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HISTORY  OF  THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH 


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HISTORY 


OF  THE 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH 


IN   THE 


IJNITKD  STATKS 

FROM  THE  EARLIEST  PERIOD  TO  THE  PRESENT  TIME. 


WITH 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES  OF  THE  LIVING  BISHOPS. 


EMBELLISHED    WITH    83    PHOTOGRAVURE    PORTRAITS    OF   THE   AMERICAN    HIERARCHY,  STEEL  PLATES,  AND 
TYPOGRAVURE  VIEWS  OF  ALL  THE  CATHEDRAL  CHURCHES,  BESIDES  NUMEROUS  OTHER  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


EDITED    BY 

• 

RICHARD   H.  CLARKE,  LL.  D., 

AUTHOR  OF  "THE  LIVES  OF  THE  DECEASED  BISHOPS  OF  THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES,"  ETC.,  ETC. 


TWO  VOLUMES  IN  ONE. 

VOL.1. 

PHILADELPHIA: 

GEBBIE  &  CO.,  PUBLISHERS. 

1891. 


BANCROFT 
LIBRARY 


o 


o 


§ 


DEDICATION. 


To  OUR  HOLY  FATHER,  POPE  LEO  XIII.  : 

A  MODEL  TO  ALL, 

AS   STUDENT,    PRIEST,    ARCHBISHOP,    CARDINAL   AND    POPE  | 

AS  NUNCIO, 

ILLUSTRIOUS    IN    HONEST   AND    TRUTHFUL    DIPLOMACY  ; 
A   LIFE-LONG    SUPPORTER   AND    DEFENDER   OF   THE    HOLY   SEE,    OF    WHICH    HE    IS    NOW    PRE-EMINENTLY 

ONE    OF   THE    ABLEST   AND    MOST    RENOWNED    PONTIFFS    THE    WORLD    HAS   EVER    KNOWN  ; 

THE   PROMOTER    OF    LEARNING,    THE    WISE    AND    PRUDENT    RULER,    SCHOLAR,    POET,    AUTHOR,    AND 

DEFENDER   OF   THE    CHURCH,    HER    DOGMAS   AND    HER    HISTORY, 

IN   THE    MIDST   OF    ENGROSSING    LABORS  | 

'SIMPLE   AND    FRUGAL    IN    THE    MIDST   OF    POMP   AND    POWER; 

FRIEND   OF   THE    POOR   AND    ALMONER   OF    THE    UNIVERSAL    CHURCH;    STATESMAN    AND    SOVEREIGN; 
POWERFUL   WITHOUT   ARMIES  ;    A    PRISONER    RULING    HUNDREDS   OF    MILLIONS  ; 

INFALLIBLE    TEACHER    OF    ALL    TRUTH, 

HOLDER   OF   THE    KEYS   OF    HEAVEN,    AND    DISPENSER    OF   SPIRITUAL    BLESSINGS  : 

LUMEN    IN    CCELO  : 


is 


RICHARD  H.  CLARKE. 

(v) 


OOPYRIOHTED  1688  BY  GEBBJE  *  OO 


GKAVURE,  OEBBIE  &HUSSOK  CO  LTP 


LEO  xra. 


Exterior  View  of  St.  Peter's,  Rome. 


LIFE  OF  THE  HOLY  FATHER  POPE  LEO  XIII. 


HE  long  and  un 
broken  line  of  Sov 
ereign  Pontiffs,  who 
have  governed  the 
Church  from  St. 
Peter  to  Leo  XIII., 
shews  few  reigns 
more  illustrious  or 
more  brilliant  than 
that  of  the  present 
Holy  Father.  An 
nounced  by  the  prophetic  words,  A  LIGHT  IN 
HEAVEN,  he  has  well  real-zed  the  prediction ; 
for  he  has  guided  the  world  by  his  wisdom  and 
learning,  his  prudence  and  fortitude,  his  ability 
as  a  Sovereign  and  his  sanctity  as  a  Pontiff. 

Gioacchino  Pecci  was  born  at  Carpineto,  in  the 
Volscian  mountains,  on  March  2,  1810,  during 
the  Pontificate  of  another  imprisoned  Pope,  Pius 
VII.  His  youth  was  remarkable  for  a  serious 
and  reflecting  cast,  united  with  gentleness  of 


soul,  sweetness  of  temper,  and  a  desire  to  oblige. 
His  home  training  was  refined  s.nd  suited  to  his 
rank.  When  yet  young  he  was  sent  to  the  Ro 
man  College  conducted  by  the  recently  restored 
Society  of  Jesus ;  and  his  final  ecclesiastical 
studies  were  made  at  the  Roman  Academy  of 
Nobles.  His  modesty  could  not  conceal  his 
genius  and  energy,  and  he  soon  became  known 
to  that  fine  judge  of  human  character,  Pope 
Gregory  XVI.,  for  the  noble  yoxing  Pecci  had 
given  everywhere  evidences  of  great  piety  and 
intellect.  On  his  ordination  in  1838  he  was  ap 
pointed  a  domestic  prelate. 

At  Benevento,  an  appendage  of  the  Holy  See, 
though  situated  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  disor 
der  and  crime  prevailed,  smuggling  and  brigand 
age  had  long  been  prevalent,  and  the  participators 
in  these  vices  were  the  leading  families,  who  had 
for  ages  lived  on  the  proceeds  of  illicit  trade  and 
of  violence.  They  cared  little  for  the  authority 
of  the  Papal  delegates  sent  from  Rome  to  admin- 

(vii) 


vni 


LIFE  OF  THE  HOLY  FATHER  POPE  LEO   XIII. 


ister  the  government.  Monsignor  Pecci  was  ap 
pointed  to  this  office,  which  had  baffled  the  judg 
ment  of  older  officials.  The  nobles  and  people 
recognizing  in  him  a  scholar,  and  anticipating 
an  easy  time,  received  him  with  great  favor  and 
hospitality.  Young  Pecci  watched  his  opportu 
nity,  made  his  arrangements  quietly,  and  the 
brigands  and  smugglers  found  themselves  sud 
denly  attacked  at  every  point.  The  Pope  sus 
tained  the  action  of  his  delegate  against  all  remon 
strances,  and  the  country  was  entirely  relieved  of 
smuggling  and  brigandage.  Then  the  young 
Pecci  was  thanked  on  all  sides.  His  next  service 
was  as  Papal  delegate  to  Perugia.  His  executive 
and  administrative  abilities  were  so  marked,  his 
skill  in  diplomacy  so  profound,  that  he  was  raised 
to  the  Archiepiscopal  dignity,  under  the  title  of 
Damietta  in  partibus,  and  sent  to  fill  the  impor 
tant  nunciature  at  Brussels.  Here  he  won  all 
hearts  by  his  urbanity  and  gentleness,  his  firm 
ness  and  prudence,  his  learning  and  judgment. 
King  Leopold,  as  well  as  every  one  at  Court  and 
among  the  people,  admired  and  respected  him. 
At  the  end  of  his  term  of  service  the  King  reluc 
tantly  parted  with  him,  and  recommended  him 
for  elevation  to  the  Cardinalate. 

In  1846  Archbishop  Pecci  was  appointed  Arch 
bishop  of  Perugia,  in  Umbria,  where  his  advent 
was  hailed  with  joy  by  all,  for  he  was  well  and 
favorably  known  to  its  people.  In  the  midst  of 
the  revolutionary  times  that  followed,  his  position 
was  a  difficult  one.  While  sympathizing  with 
the  just  and  patriotic  aspirations  of  his  country 
men,  he  was  the  supporter  of  law,  order,  and 
authority.  In  no  previous  position  had  his  pru 
dence  and  justice  been  more  universally  acknowl 
edged.  He  was  elevated  to  the  Cardinalate,  De 
cember  19,  1853.  As  Archbishop  and  Cardinal 
he  was  the  real  pastor  of  his  flock,  and  the  best 
friend  of  his  people.  In  the  trying  crisis,  when 
the  Italian  government  took  possession  of  Um 
bria,  he  stood  by  his  flock  and  his  altars,  coun 
selled  all  to  be  peaceful  and  quiet  in  the  midst  of 
revolution  and  injustice;  and  his  noble  and  brave 
example,  in  continuing  his  exalted  functions  with 
zeal,  piety,  and  equanimity,  went  far  to  quiet  the 
disturbed  elements  of  society.  On  the  death  of 
Cardinal  de  Angelis,  in  July,  1877,  he  was  ap 
pointed  Chamberlain  to  Pope  Pius  IX.,  a  position 
of  great  influence  and  responsibility,  one  which 


is  usually  regarded  as  placing  the  incumbent  out 
of  the  line  of  the  succession  to  the  Papacy.  But 
it  did  not  have  this  effect  in  the  case  of  Cardinal 
Pecci,  for  he  was  elected  to  succeed  Pope  Pius 
IX.,  on  February  20,  1878,  and  was  crowned  as 
Pope  on  March  3. 

The  most  prominent  features  in  his  eventful 
and  active  pontificate  have  been  his  triumphal 
vindication  of  the  rights  of  the  Church  in  Prus 
sia  and  the  relief  he  has  brought  to  the  perse 
cuted  Catholics  of  that  country ;  his  firm  and 
courageous  maintenance  of  the  rights  of  the 
Papacy  in  the  face  of  the  Italian  occupation  of 
the  States  of  the  Church,  and  his  appeals  to  the 
nations  for  the  restoration  of  the  temporal  power ; 
his  grand  efforts  for  Christian  unity,  embracing 
a  movement  for  healing  the  separation  of  the 
Greek  Church  from  the  Latin  ;  his  efforts  for  the 
revival  of  the  study  of  St.  Thomas  Aquinas  and 
of  Christian  philosophy,  and  for  the  elevation  of 
the  standard  of  ecclesiastical  studies  and  learning 
in  the  Church ;  his  opening  of  the  treasures  of 
the  Vatican  Library  to  the  students  of  the  world ; 
his  vigilance  in  watching  the  vicissitudes  and 
providing  for  the  wants  of  the  Church  through 
out  the  universe  ;  his  great  encyclicals  on  educa 
tion,  faith,  morals,  slavery  and  other  most  im 
portant  subjects ;  his  great  labors  and  toils,  his 
learning  and  his  writings,  his  spirit  of  prayer  and 
devotion,  which  he  has  communicated  to  the 
whole  Church ;  his  simplicity  and  severity  of 
life ;  his  munificent  generosity  to  every  great 
work ;  his  charity  to  the  poor  and  afflicted ;  his 
wise  and  learned  counsels  to  all ;  the  immense 
increase  he  has  given  to  the  influence  of  the 
Papacy  throughout  the  world.  In  1888  the  na 
tions  celebrated  his  Golden  Sacerdotal  Jubilee, 
and  it  was  the  occasion  for  manifestations  of 
respect,  affection  and  loyalty  from  nations  and 
sovereigns,  which  have  never  been  excelled,  while 
he  exhorted  the  world  to  prayer,  penance  and 
faith.  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  all  the  sov 
ereigns  and  governments  of  the  world  sent  most 
costly  and  valuable  presents  to  Pope  Leo  XIII. 
at  this  golden  jubilee,  except  Humbert,  King  of 
Italy.  Among  those  sending  presents  were 
President  Cleveland,  who  sent  a  beautiful  copy 
of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  Queen 
Victoria,  and  the  Sultan  of  Turkey;  several  emi 
nent  Jewish  rabbis  sent  splendid  Hebrew  Bibles. 


LIFE   OF  THE   HOLY   FATHER   POPE  LEO   XIII. 


IX 


The  Pope  also  during  his  j  ubilee  year  issued  his 
brief  approving  the  plan  of  the  American  Catho 
lic  University. 

The  ability  and  success,  with  which  Pope  Leo 
XIII.  managed  the  interests  of  the  Church  in 
Prussia  and  brought  about  the  relief  of  the 
Catholics  of  that  country, were  remarkable.  At 
the  time  of  his  accession  to  the  papal  throne  the 
relations  between  the  Vatican  and  Prussia  could 
not  have  been  more  unfavorable.  And  yet,  in 
1886  and  1887,  he  had,  by  his  profound  nego 
tiations,  brought  about  the  entente  cordiale  be 
tween  himself  and  Prince  Bismarck. 

Allusion  has  been  made  to  the  grand  ency 
clicals  of  this  illustrious  Pope.  We  deem  it 
proper,  in  order  to  convey  some  idea  of  his  sub 
lime  teachings  on  living  topics  of  the  day,  to 
give  the  following  extract  from  his  remarkable 
encyclical,  dated  November  i,  1885,  the  Immor- 
tale  Dei  Encyclical : 

"And  now  in  these  times  it  is  becoming  to  re 
vive  these  examples  of  those  of  old.  Catholics 
worthy  of  the  name  must  be  most  loving  chil- 
clren  of  the  Church  and  wish  to  be  understood  as 
such  ;  without  hesitation  to  reject  whatever  can 
not  be  reconciled  with  this  honorable  note ;  to 
use  the  ways  and  customs  of  the  people,  so  far 


as  it  can  rightly  be  done,  for  the  fostering  of 
truth  and  justice  ;  to  work  it  out  that  liberty  of 
action  shall  not  overleap  the  line  drawn  by  the 
laws  of  God  and  of  nature ;  to  be  intent  that 
every  state  may  be  brought  back  to  that  Christian 
form  and  likeness  of  which  we  have  spoken.  The 
way  of  attaining  these  ends  cannot  aptly  be  laid 
down  in  any  one  certain  mode,  since  the}'  must 
be  made  to  suit  the  various  times  and  places  that 
greatly  differ,  the  one  from  the  other.  Lest  the 
union  of  minds  be  destroyed  by  the  rashness  of 
blaming,  let  all  understand  this  :  That  the  integ 
rity  of  Catholic  profession  cannot  possibly  co 
exist  with  opinions  approaching  naturalism  or 
rationalism,  the  sum  of  which  is  to  destroy 
Christian  customs  from  their  foundation  and  to 
establish  a  rule  of  man  in  society,  from  which 
God  is  excluded.  In  like  manner  it  is  not  lawful 
to  follow  one  rule  in  private  conduct  and  another 
in  the  government  of  the  state,  so,  to  wit,  that 
the  authority  of  the  church  should  be  observed 
in  private  life  but  rejected  in  state  matters.  But 
if  in  question  of  opinions  purely  political,  of 
the  best  kind  of  government,  of  ruling  states 
on  one  or  another  plan,  there  may  indeed 
be  honest  disagreement  regarding  all  such 
things." 


Interior  View  of  St.  Peter's,  Rome. 


PREFACE. 


HE  history  of  the  Church  in 
America  needs  to  be  read  and 
stiidied  by  the  masses  of  the 
Catholic  people  of  the  United 
States  with  more  than  their 
accustomed  habit  and  pro 
vided  opportunities.  For  this 
purpose  historical  works  of 
moderate  size,  general  in  scope, 
popular  in  style,  and  simple 
in  composition,  are  needed  for  the  people. 
While  our  American  Catholic  literature  has  been 
enriched  with  more  elaborate  and  detailed  eccle 
siastical  histories  for  the  study  of  scholars,  the 
people  generally  have  been  left  without  Church 
histories  suitable  to  their  wants,  tastes  and 
means,  and  which,  at  the  same  time,  should  pre 
sent  to  them  the  opportunity  of  a  complete  view 
of  the  noble  and  edifying  achievements  of  the 
Church  in  this  country ;  the  examples  of  self- 
sacrificing  missionaries,  laboring  unto  death 
among  savages  or  exhausting  their  lives  in 
guarding  and  instructing  the  flocks ;  the  lives, 
virtues,  and  labors  of  holy  priests  and  apostolic 


bishops,  the  charities  and  good  works  of  pious 
laymen,  the  models  of  citizenship  and  Christian 
lives,  the  efficient,  and  powerful  co-operation  of 
Catholic  lay  organizations  with  the  great  action 
of  the  Church  upon  society;  the  literary  labors 
of  the  studious  and  learned,  and  the  munificence 
of  the  rich  and  faithful  stewards  of  the  Lord ; 
the  benign  influences  and  holy  works  of  the  re 
ligious  orders ;  the  noble  work  of  our  colleges 
and  schools,  educators  of  a  Christian  people;  and 
the  lives  of  our  living  bishops,  rulers  of  the 
American  Church.  To  afford  such  reading  to 
the  Catholic  people  of  the  United  States  is  the 
object  of  this  work. 

The  plan  of  the  work  consists  in  subdividing 
the  whole  history  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  this 
country  into  principal  periods,  commencing  with 
the  earliest  traces  of  Christianity  and  bringing 
the  narrative  to  our  own  days.  The  first  period 
will  run  from  the  beginning  to  the  Revolution  and 
War  of  Independence,  when  the  American  Church 
practically  ceased  to  be  within  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  Vicars  Apostolic  of  London;  and  will  em 
brace  the  English,  Spanish  and  French  colonies 

(xi) 


Xll 


PREFACE. 


and  missions.    The  second  period  will  contain  the  the  history  of  all  the  dioceses  of  the  American 

proofs  of  Catholic   devotion   to,    and    sacrifices  Church,  arranged  under  the  heads  of  the  eccle- 

inade  for,  the  common  cause  of  American  liberty  siastical  provinces  to  which  they  respectively  be- 

and  free  government.    The  third  period  will  em-  long,  from    the  first  subdivision  of  the  parent 

brace  the  history  of  the  parent  Diocese  of  Balti-  diocese  in  1808-10,  to  the  present  time.    A  proini- 

more,  which  embraced  the  whole  United  States,  nent  and  additional  feature  of  the  work  will  con- 

from  the  appointment  of  its  first  Bishop,   Dr.  sist  of  brief  but  complete  biographical  sketches 

Carroll,  to  its  subdivision  into  dioceses  in  1808-  of  the  prelates  now  presiding  over  the  various 

10.    And  the  remaining  and  last  period  will  cover  dioceses  of  the  Church. 


CONTENTS. 

VOLUME  I. 


DEDICATION v 

LIFE  OF  THE  HOLY  FATHER  POPE  LEO  XIII  .         .      vii 

PREFACE xi 

Works  which  have  been  consulted  in  the  preparation  of 

this  work          .......     xiii 

HISTORICAL  SKETCH — INTRODUCTORY  ....    xvii 

Part  I.  The  Church  in  the  English  Colonies  .    xvii 

Part  II.  The  Church  in  the  Spanish  Colonies  xxxiv 

Part  III.  The  French  Elements  in  our  History      .         1 
Part  IV.  The  Catholic  Church  during  the  War  of 
Independence  .......  Ixxvi 

CHAPTER  I. 

DIOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE — from  its  Erection  in  1789-90 

to  its  Subdivision  in  1808-10  .  .  ,  i 

Biographical  Sketch  of  His  Eminence  James  Cardinal 
Gibbons,  First  Vicar- Apostolic  of  North  Carolina, 
Fourth  Bishop  of  Richmond,  Ninth  Archbishop 
of  Baltimore,  and  Second  American  Cardinal  .  21 

CHAPTER   II. 

PROVINCE  OF  BALTIMORE — ARCHDIOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE. 
History  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Baltimore  from  1810,  and 
of  the  Suffragan  Dioceses  of  Charleston,  Rich 
mond,  Savannah,  St.  Augustine,  Wheeling,  and 
Wilmington,  and  the  Vicariate-Apostolic  of  North 
Carolina,   from    their   Erection   to   the  Present 
Time        ........       23 

Diocese  of  Charleston          ......      38 

Diocese  of  Richmond          ......       40 

Diocese  of  Wheeling  .......      42 

Diocese  of  Savannah  .......      42 

Diocese  of  St.  Augustine     ......      44 

Diocese  of  Wilmington        ......       45 

Vicariate-Apostolic  of  North  Carolina          ...       46 
Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  John  J.  Keane,  D.  D. , 
Bishop  of  Ajasso  in  partibus  in  fidelium,  and  First 
Rector  of  the  American  Catholic  University       .      47 
Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Thomas  A.  Becker, 
D.  D.,  First  Bishop  of  Wilmington  and  Sixth 
Bishop  of  Savannah  .         ,        .        .         .      48 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  John  Moore,  D.  D., 

Second  Bishop  of  St.  Augustine         ,         .         .49 
Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  John  J.  Kain,  D.  D., 

Second  Bishop  of  Wheeling,  West  Virginia        .       50 


Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Henry  Pinckney 
Northrop,  D.  D.,  Second  Vicar-Apostolic  of 
North  Carolina  and  Fourth  Bishop  of  Charleston  51 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Alfred  A.  Curtis, 

D.  D.,  Second  Bishop  of  Wilmington,  Del.  .  52 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Leo  Haid,  O.  S.  B., 
D.  D.,  Fourth  Vicar- Apostolic  of  North  Caro 
lina  .  53 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Augustine  Van  De 

Vyver,  D.  D.,  Sixth  Bishop  of  Richmond  .  54 

CHAPTER  III. 

PROVINCE  OF  NEW  YORK — ARCHDIOCESE  OF  NEW  YORK. 
History  of  the  Archdiocese  of  New  York,  and  the  Suf 
fragan  Dioceses   of  Albany,  Buffalo,  Brooklyn, 
Newark,  Rochester,  Ogdensburg,  Trenton,  and 

Syracuse 55 

Diocese  of  Albany .      63 

Diocese  of  Buffalo 64 

Diocese  of  Newark 65 

Diocese  of  Brooklyn  .......      67 

Diocese  of  Rochester  ......       68 

Diocese  of  Ogdensburg 68 

Diocese  of  Trenton .69 

Diocese  of  Syracuse    .......       70 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Most  Rev.  Michael  Augustine 
Corrigan,  D.  D.,  Second  Bishop  of  Newark  and 
Third  Archbishop  of  New  York         ...       72 
Biographical    Sketch    of    Right  Rev.  John  Loughlin, 

D.  D.,  First  Bishop  of  Brooklyn          .         .         •       74 
Biographical   Sketch   of  Right   Rev.  Stephen  Vincent 

Ryan,  C.  M.,  D.  D.,  Second  Bishop  of  Buffalo  .       75 
Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Francis  S.  McNeirny, 

D.D.,  Third  Bishop  of  Albany          ...       76 
Biographical  Sketch  of  Right   Rev.    Winand  Wigger, 

D.  D.,  Third  Bishop  of  Newark         ...      77 
Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Bernard  Joseph  Mc- 

Quaid,  D.  D.,  First  Bishop  of  Rochester    .        .      78 
Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Edgar  P.  Wadhams, 

D.  D.,  First  Bishop  of  Ogdensburg   •.         .         -79 
Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Michael  J.  O'Farrell, 

D.  D.,  First  Bishop  of  Trenton          ...      80 
Biographical  Sketch  of   Right  Rev.    Patrick   Anthony 

Ludden,  D.  D.,  First  Bishop  of  Syracuse    .         .      81 

(xiii) 


*  r-i-  rp  yyr 
.'.  i-J.    1     • 


n 


ILLUSTRATIONS-VOL.  I. 


PHOTOGRAVURE  PORTRAITS  OF  THE  ARCHBISHOPS,  ETC. 


1  THIRD  PLENARY  COUNCIL  OF  BALTIMORE,  1884 

2  POPE  LEO  XIII 

3  His  EMINENCE  JAMES  CARDINAL  GIBBONS,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  BALTIMORE,  MD. 

4  MOST  REV.  MICHAEL  AUGUSTINE  CORRIGAN,  D.  D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Frontispiece. 

PAGE 

vii 


21 
72 


TYPOGRAVURE  PORTRAITS  OF  THE  BISHOPS. 


1  RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  J.  KEANE,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  AJASSO,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C.  . 

2  RIGHT  REV.  THOMAS  BECKER,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  SAVANNAH,  GA.      .       .. 
RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  MOORE,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  ST.  AUGUSTINE,  FLA.     . 

4  RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  J.  KAIN,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  WHEELING,  W.  VA. 

5  RIGHT  REV.  HENRY  PINCKNEY  NORTHROP,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  CHARLESTON,  S.  C.        .  •    •'. 

6  RIGHT  REV.  ALFRED  A.  CURTIS,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  WILMINGTON,  DEL.      .,••     • 

7  RIGHT  REV.  LEO  HAID,  D.  D.,  O.  S.  B., 

BISHOP  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA  ,       ,'  •.  ^-. 

8  RIGHT  REV.  A.  VAN  DE  VYVER,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  RICHMOND,  VA.      .        .     .    . 

(xiv) 


PAGE 

9 

RIGHT 

47 

10 

RIGHT 

•    47 

ii 

RIGHT 

.     47 

12 

RIGHT 

•     47 

13 

RIGHT 

14 

RIGHT 

•     51 

15 

RIGHT 

•     Si 

16 

RIGHT 

REV.  JOHN  LOUGHLIN,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  BROOKLYN,  N.  Y.   .        . 

REV.  STEPHEN  VINCENT  RYAN,  D.  D., 
BISHOP  OF  BUFFALO,  N.  Y.  . 

REV.  FRANCIS  McNEiRNY,  D.  D., 
BISHOP  OF  ALBANY,  N.  Y.         .     .... 

REV.  WlNAND  WlGGER,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  NEWARK,  N.  J.        .        . 
REV.  BERNARD  J.  MCQUAID,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  ROCHESTER,  N.  Y.       •,    • 
REV.  EDGAR  P.  WADHAMS,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  OGDENSBURG,  N.  Y.       . 
REV.  MICHAEL  J.  O'FARRELL,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  TRENTON",  N.  J.       .  • 
REV.  PATRICK  ANTHONY  .LUDDEN,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  SYRACUSE,  N.  Y.     .    : 


PAGE 

7J 

.     74 

-74 

.     74 

-78 

i  .  .-  jfi 

;S 

7)5 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  IN  THE  TEXT. 

VOLUME  I. 


Headpiece — DEDICATION — POPE  I/EO  XIII        .        .    '  .•£**-        v 

EXTERIOR  VIEW  OF  ST.  PETER'S,  ROME  ....  vii 

INTERIOR  VIEW  OF  ST.  PETER'S,  ROME    ....  ix 

THE  INTRODUCTION  OF  CHRISTIANITY  INTO  AMERICA     .  xvii 

COPPER  COIN  OF  TEOTIHUACAN xviii 

CROSS  FROM  THE  RUINS  OF  PALENQUE     ....  xviii 

CENTRAL  AMERICAN  CROSS xviii 

NACHAN  MONOLITH xviii 

DIGHTON  WRITING  ROCK,  MASSACHUSETTS      .        .        .  xix 

TOWER  AT  NEWPORT xix 

CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS  ON  BOARD  HIS  CARAVAL          .  xx 

LORD  BALTIMORE,  PORTRAIT  OF xxiii 

CELEBRATING   MASS   FOR   THE   FIRST   TIMB   ON   ST. 

CLEMENT'S xxiv 

THE  EXILE  OF  THE  ACADIANS xxxi 

COLUMBUS  RAISING  THE  BANNER  OF  THE  CROSS  AND  OF 

SPAIN  FOR  THE  FIRST  TIME  IN  THE  NEW  WORLD  .  xxxiii 
THE  SOLITUDE  OF  THE  NEW  WORLD        ....  xxxiv 
DISCOVERY  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI,  CALLED  BY  THE  SPAN 
IARDS  THE  RIVER  OF  THE  HOLY  GHOST  .       .       .  xxxv 
DE  SOTO'S  DEFEAT  AT  THE  BATTLE  OF  MANILLA    .       .  xxxvi 

THE  SLAIN  MISSIONARY xxxix 

PANORAMA  OF  FORT  SAN  MARCO,  ST.  AUGUSTINE,  FLA.  xlii 

CHURCH  OF  OUR  LADY  OF  GUADALUPE,  SANTA  Ffi  .        .  xlv 

OLD  FORT  MARCY,  SANTA  Fis xlvi 

THE  PRIEST  AS  A  PHYSICIAN xlvii 

THE  EARLY  FRENCH  MISSIONS  IN  AMERICA    ...  1 

JACQUES  CARTIER li 

PLANTING  A  CROSS  ON  THE  COAST  OF  LABRADOR    .        .  li 

OVERLOOKING  MONTREAL lii 

VIEW  ON  THE  ST.  LAWRENCE  RIVER        ....  liv 

THE  CROSS  AT  FORT  ST.  ANNE,  VT Ivii 

THE  PRIMITIVE  WILDERNESS lix 

TOMB  OF  AN  EARLY  INDIAN  CONVERT  ON  THE  OTTAWA 

RIVER Ix 

THE  GREAT  PLAINS Ixii 

FATHER  HENNEPIN  AT  NIAGARA Ixiii 

FATHER  MARQUETTE  AVOIDING  THE  RAPIDS  .       .       .  Ixiii 

THE  DEATH  OF  FATHER  MARQUETTE       ....  Ixiv 

NIAGARA  FALLS,  AS  FIRST  SEEN  BY  FATHER  HENNEPIN  Ixv 

THE  WILDERNESS  ON  THE  ST.  LAWRENCE       .       .       .  Ixvii 

JESUIT  MISSION  AT  NATCHEZ Ixxi 

FATHER  GIBAULT,  MISSIONARY  TO  THE  INDIANS     .        .  Ixxiii 

CHARLES  CARROLL,  OF  CARROLLTON       ....  Ixxvi 

COMMODORE  JOHN  BARRY Ixxix 

LAFAYETTE Ixxx 

COMTE  DE  ROCHAMBEAU Ixxxi 

PULASKI Ixxxi 

COMTE  DE  GRASSE Ixxxii 

DANIEL  CARROLL Ixxxiii 

ST.  JOSEPH'S  CHURCH  (PHILADELPHIA),  IN  OLDEN  TIMES  Ixxxvi 
MOTHER  ELIZABETH  ANN  SETON,  FOUNDER  OF  THE 

SISTERS  OF  CHARITY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  Ixxxviii 

CATHEDRAL,  BALTIMORE,  MD i 

MOST  REV.  JOHN  CARROLL,  D.  D.,  FIRST  ARCHBISHOP  OF 

BALTIMORE 4 

SCENE  ON  THE  MOHAWK 10 

THE  CROSS  IN  THE  WILDERNESS 12 


is 
20 
23 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
26 
26 
26 
26 
26 
26 
26 
27 
27 
28 

33 
35 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

MISSIONARY  TEACHING  THE  INDIANS       .... 

CECIL  CALVERT  (LORD  BALTIMORE) 

GEORGETOWN  COLLEGE 

GEORGETOWN  COLLEGE  IN  OLDEN  TIMES  .... 

ROBERT  MOLYNEUX 

REV.  WM.  L.  DUBOURG 

WILLIAM  MATTHEWS 

REV.  FRANCIS  NEALE 

REV.  BENEDICT  J.  FENWICK 

THOMAS  F.  MULLEDY 

JAMES  RYDER 

CHARLES  STONESTREET 

BERNARD  A.  MAGUIRE 

JOHN  EARLY 

REV.  P.  F.  HEALY 

JAMES  A.  DOONAN 

FATHER  ANGELO  SECCHI 

FATHER  CURLEY 

FIRST  BUILDING  ERECTED,  GEORGETOWN  COLLEGE 

LAW  DEPARTMENT,  GEORGETOWN  COLLEGE    . 

MEDICAL  DEPARTMENT,  GEORGETOWN  COLLEGE   . 

REV.  LEONARD  NEALE 

MOST  REV.  FRANCIS  PATRICK  KENRICK,  D.  D.,  ARCH 
BISHOP  OF  BALTIMORE 

MARTIN  JOHN  SPALDING,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  BALTIMORE   . 

MOST  REV.  JAMES  ROOSEVELT  BAYLEY,  D.  D.,  ARCH 
BISHOP  OF  BALTIMORE 36 

DIVINITY   BUILDING,    CATHOLIC    UNIVERSITY,    WASH 
INGTON,  D.  C 37 

RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  ENGLAND,  D.  D.,  BISHOP  OF  CHARLES 
TON     38 

RUINS  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  AT  CHARLESTON,  S.  C.  .       .          39 

CATHEDRAL  OF  ST.  PETER,  RICHMOND,  VA.     ...          40 

ST.  JOSEPH'S  CATHEDRAL,  WHEELING,  WEST  VA.    .       .         42 

CATHEDRAL  OF  OUR  LADY  OF  PERPETUAL  HELP,  SAVAN 
NAH,  GA 43 

CATHEDRAL  OF  ST.  AUGUSTINE,  FLA 44 

ST.  PETER'S  PRO-CATHEDRAL,  WILMINGTON,  DEL.         .         45 

PRO-CATHEDRAL  OF  ST.  THOMAS,  WILMINGTON,  N.  C.   .          46 

INTERIOR  VIEW  OF  ST.  PATRICK'S  CATHEDRAL,  NEW 

YORK 55 

MOST  REV.  JOHN  HUGHES,  D.  D.,  FIRST  ARCHBISHOP  OF 

NEW  YORK 58 

Pius  IX 60 

RIGHT  REV.  THOS.  S.  PRESTON 61 

CARDINAL  MCCLOSKEY 61 

ST.  PATRICK'S  CATHEDRAL,  NEW  YORK   ....         62 

CATHEDRAL  OF  THE  IMMACULATE  CONCEPTION,  ALBANY, 

N.  Y 63 

ST.  JOSEPH'S  CATHEDRAL,  BUFFALO,  N.  Y.  .        .          64 

ST.  PATRICK'S  CATHEDRAL,  NEWARK,  N.  J.  .       .'         66 

INTERIOR  VIEW  OF  ST.  JAMBS'  CATHEDRAL,  BROOKLYN, 

N.  Y 67 

ST.  PATRICK'S  CATHEDRAL,  ROCHESTER,  N.  Y.   .  -  .    68 

ST.  MARY'S  CATHEDRAL,  OGDENSBURG,  N.  Y.    .   .    69 

ST.  MARY'S  CATHEDRAL,  TRENTON,  N.  J.    .   .  •  .    70 

ST.  JOHN'S  CATHEDRAL,  SYRACUSE,  N.  Y.    .   .   .'    71 

(xv) 


WORKS  WHICH  HAVE  BEEN  CONSULTED  IN  THE    PREPARATION 

OF    THIS  WORK. 


Relations  des  Jesuits.     3  Vols.     Quebec,  1858. 
Hubert    Howe    Bancroft's  Works.     29  Vols.      San 

Francisco,  1883-1888. 
History  of  the  United  States  (old  edition).     10  Vols. 

By  George  Bancroft. 
History  of  Maryland.     McMahon. 
History  of  Maryland.     1837.     John  Leeds  Bozman. 
History  of  Maryland.     McSherry. 
History  of   Maryland.     3  Vols.     1879.    J.    Thomas 

Scharf. 

Foundation  of  Maryland.     By  Bradley  T.  Johnson. 
Antiquitates  Americanae.     1837.     Professor  Rafn. 
Robertson's  History  of  America. 
Acadia.     1884.     By  Philip  H.  Smith. 
Ancient  America.     1872.     John  D.  Baldwin. 
American  Antiquities.     1833.    Josiah  Priest. 
The  Day  Star  of  American  Freedom.     1855.     George 

Lynn-Lachlan  Davis. 
Historical    Memoirs    of    Louisiana.     1853.      B.     F. 

French . 
De"couverte    de    1'Amerique  par  les    Normands   au 

Xe  Sie"cle.    1874.    Rouen.    Par  Gabriel  Gravier. 
Northern  Antiquities.    1859.     B7  M-  Mallet.    Trans 
lation  by  Bishop  Percy. 
Discovery  of  America  by  the   Northmen.     London, 

1841.     By  North  Ludlow  Beamish. 
Northmen    in    New    England.      1839.     By  Joshua 

Toulman  Smith. 
Discovery  and  Exploration  of  the  Mississippi.     1853. 

By  John  Gilmary  Shea. 
History  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States. 

De  Courcy  &  Shea. 
History  of  the  Catholic  Missions.     1855.     By  John 

Gilmary  Shea. 
The  Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States.     2  Vols. 

1886,  1888.     By  John  Gilmary  Shea. 
Life    and    Times    of   Archbishop    Carroll.     B.    U. 

Campbell. 

Historical  Magazine. 
Life    of    George     Washington.       By     Washington 

Irving.    . 

History  of  New  Mexico.     Prince. 
Charlevoix's  History  of  New  France.     Shea. 
LeClerq's  Establishment  of  the  Faith.     Shea. 
Prescott's  Works. 
History  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  California.     1872. 

By  Rev.  W.  Gleeson. 
Centenary  of  Catholicity  in  Kentucky.     Benjamin  J. 

Webb. 

Hennepin's  Description  of  Louisiana.     Shea. 
Biography    of   Archbishop    Carroll.      1843.      Jofltl 
Carroll  Brent 
(xvi) 


Life    of   Bishop  Neumann.      By   John  A.   Berger, 

C.  SS.  R. 
Sketch  of  the  Establishment  of  the  Church  in  New 

England.     Rev.  James  Fitton. 
History  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  New  York.     By 

Most  Rev.  James  R.  Bayley. 
Missionary   Labors   of  Fathers    Marquette,  M£nard 

and  Allouez.     By  Rev.  C.  Verwyst,  O.  S.  F. 
Life  of  Mother  Seton.     By  Rev.  Charles  I.  White. 
Memoir,  Letters,  etc.,  of  Mrs.  Seton.    By  Right  Rev. 

Robert  Seton,  D.  D. 

Life  of  Archbishop  Hughes.     John  R.  G.  Hassard. 
Life  of  Bishop  Timon.     Charles  G.  Deuther. 
Western   Missions  and    Missionaries.       Rev.    P.    J. 

DeSmet,  S.  J. 

Indian  Sketches.     Rev.  P.  J.  DeSmet,  S.  J. 
Sketches  of  Kentucky.     Most  Rev.  Martin  J.  Spald- 

ing. 
The  Catholic  Church  in  the  Diocese  of  Pittsburgh 

and  Allegheny.     Rev.  A.  A.  Lambing. 
Life  of  Father  Isaac  Jogues.     By  Rev.  Felix  Martin, 

S.  J.     Translated  by  J.  G.  Shea. 
Life  of  Gallitzin.     Sarah  M.  Brownson. 
Life  of  Ven.  Padre  Junipero  Serra.     By  Very  Rev. 

Francis    Palou.      Translated  by  Very  Rev.   J. 

Adam. 
Missions  in    Western   New  York.     By  Right  Rev. 

John  Timon. 
History  of  the   Church   in  Brooklyn.     By   Patrick 

Mulrenan. 
Connecticut  Catholic  Year-Book.      1877.     James  A. 

Rooney. 
History  of  the  Catholic  Church   in  the  Diocese  of 

Vincennes.     Rev.  H.  Alerding. 
Portland  Centennial.     John  T.  Hall. 
Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding.     Right  Rev.  John  L. 

Spalding. 
Catholicity  in  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia.     Rev.  Dr. 

J.  J.  O' Council,  O.  S.  B. 
The  Church   in   Northern   Ohio.     Rev.  George   F. 

Houck. 

Conewago  Centennial.    John  T.  Reily. 
The  Church  in  New  Mexico.     Father  Defouri. 


In  addition  to  the  above,  files  of  Charleston  Mis 
cellany,  U.  S.  Catholic  Magazine,  The  Metropolitan, 
The  Catholic  World,  Freeman's  Journal,  Catholic 
Almanacs,  and  numerous  serials,  pamphlets,  diocesan 
archives  .and  records,  and  other  original  sources  of 
information. 


The  Introduction  of  Christianity  into  America. 


THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


PART  I. 

THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  ENGLISH  COLONIES. 

Honorable  Record  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  America — Antiquity  Claimed  for  the  American  Church — The  Northmen  in  America — 
Christianity  Introduced  in  the  Tenth  and  Eleventh  Centuries — Discovery  of  America  by  Columbus — English  Voyages  and  Catholic 
Worship  held  under  Cabot — French  and  Spanish  Discoveries — Origin  of  the  American  Hierarchy — England's  Apostacy — English 
Catholic  Colonization — Catholic  Maryland— Religious  Liberty — Catholicity  in  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey  and  New  York. 


HE  annals  of  the  Catholic 
Church  in  America  are  re 
plete  with  heroic  achievements 
worthy  of  her  ancient  renown. 
Her  clear  and  explicit  embodi 
ment  of  dogma  and  creed,  sup 
ported  by  her  divine  commis 
sion  as  an  infallible  teacher; 
the  high  purposes  which 
brought  to  the  West  apostolic  men  to  teach  the 
gospel  to  infidels,  and  the  sufferings  and  labors 
they  endured  in  this  exalted  mission ;  the 
noble  faith  and  self-sacrifice  of  Catholic  col 
onists  laying  the  new  foundations  of  great 
empires,  or  seeking  here  in  exile  that  freedom 
of  conscience,  which  was  denied  to  them  in 
their  native  European  homes  ;  the  purity  of  life, 
indomitable  perseverance,  wisdom  and  unity  of 
action  of  the  pioneer  bishops  and  missionaries, 


founders  of  our  dioceses  and  churches ;  the 
loyalty  of  Catholic  citizens  in  war  and  in  peace, 
and  their  long,  unswerving  patience  under  cal 
umny,  have  all  concurred  in  inspiring  confidence 
and  in  winning  admiration  for  the  Catholic  body 
in  America.  These  pages  are  devoted  to  the 
narrative  of  the  heroic  achievements  of  the  Cath 
olic  Church  and  her  children  in  these  republics. 

Great  learning  and  research  have  been  ex 
pended  in  the  effort  to  prove  the  superior  an 
tiquity  of  the  American  Continents  over  those  of 
the  Eastern  Hemisphere,  the  traditional  cradle 
lands  of  our  race.  Many  authors  of  learning 
and  scientific  ability  have  advocated  the  claim  of 
America  to  the  greatest  antiquity  as  the  original 
home  of  man,  and  the  scene  of  those  early  and 
cardinal  events  in  human  history  related  in  the 
Book  of  Genesis. 

Equally  earnest,  learned  and  acute  have  been 

(xvii) 


xvm 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


the  efforts  of  profound,  skilful  and  conscientious 
writers,  to  trace  the  origin  of  Christianity  in  this 
country  back  to  the  apostolic  age.  The  dis 
covery  by  the  early  Spanish  missionaries  and 
scholars  of  ancient  crosses  in  both  North  and 


Copper  Coin  of 
Teotihuacan. 


Central  American 
Cross. 


Cross  from  the  Ruins 
of  Palenque. 

South  America,  to  some  of  which  were  attributed 
miraculous  virtue,  all  of  which  were  objects  of 
religious  veneration  among  the  aborigines,  to 
gether  with  concurrent  traditions  and  observ 
ances  of  the  people,  convinced  those  zealous, 
studious  and  pious  Europeans,  the  early  Spanish 
missionaries,  that  Christianity  had  been  intro 
duced  into  America  at  a  remote  period.  Among 
the  ruins  of  Palenque  was  a  Temple  of  the  Cross, 
in  which,  besides  an  ancient  statue  surmounted 
by  a  cross,  the  cross  appears  everywhere  cut  in 
the  walls  and  decorations  of  the  temple.  The 
people  rendered  homage  to  the  cross.  Hence  the 
theory  was  deduced,  warmly  advocated  and  sus 
tained,  with  great  research  and  cogent  argument, 
that  the  cross  and  the  religion  of  the  Crucified  had 
been  propagated  in  North  America  by  the  Apostle 
St.  Thomas,  and  in  South  America  by  the  Apos 
tle  St.  Bartholomew,  and  their  disciples. 

Mr.  Baldwin,  in  his  Ancient  America,  says  of 
the  Temple  of  the  Cross  that  it  "is  usually  called 
''La  Cruz]  because  the  most  prominent  object 
within  the  buildings  is  a  great  bas-relief,  on 
which  are  sculptured  a  cross  and  several  human 
figures.  .  .  .  The  cross  is  supposed  to  have  been 
the  central  object  of  interest.  It  was  wonderfully 
sculptured  and  decorated ;  human  figures  stand 
near  it,  and  some  grave  ceremony  seems  to  be 
represented.  The  infant  held  toward  the  cross 
by  one  of  the  figures  suggests  a  christening 
ceremony.  The  cross  is  one  of  the  most  common 
emblems  present  in  all  the  ruins.  This  led  the 
Catholic  missionaries  to  assume  that  knowl 
edge  of  Christianity  had  been  brought  to  that 
part  of  America  long  before  their  arrival,  and 
they  adopted  the  belief  that  the  gospel  was 
preached  there  by  St.  Thomas."  Mr.  Donnelly, 
in  his  Atlantis,  the  Antediluvian  World,  says  : 


"  When  the  Spanish  missionaries  first  set  foot 
upon  the  soil  of  America,  in  the  fifteenth  cen 
tury,  they  were  amazed  to  find  the  cross  was  as 
devotedly  worshipped  by  the  red  Indians  as 
by  themselves,  and  were  in  doubt  whether  to  as- 
scribe  the  fact  to  the  pious  labors  of  St.  Thomas 
or  to  the  cunning  device  of  the  Evil  One.  The 
hallowed  symbol  challenged  their  attention  on 
every  hand  and  in  almost  every  variety  of  form. 
It  appeared  in  the  bas-reliefs  of  ruined  and  de 
serted  as  well  as  those  of  inhabited  palaces,  and 
was  the  most  conspicuous  ornament  in  the  great 
temple  of  Gozumel,  off  the  coast  of  Yucatan. 
According  to  the  particular  locality,  and  the  pur 
pose  which  it  served,  it  was  formed  of  various 
materials — of  marble  and  gypsum  in  the  open 
spaces  of  cities  and  by  the  wayside ;  of  wood  in 

the  teocallis  or  chapels 


on  pyramidal  summits 
and  in  subterranean 
sanctuaries  ;  and  of  em 
erald  or  jasper  in  the 
palaces  of  kings  and 
nobles." 

Our  examination  of 
this  interesting  question 
has  led  us  to  the  con 
clusion  that  these  ancient 
crosses,  similar  to  the 
ancient  pre-Christian 
crosses  found  in  the 
Eastern  Hemisphere, 
were  not  the  works  of  an 
early  Christianity,  but 
rather  evidences  of  that 
universal  cultus  of  the 
cross,  which  from  pri 
meval  ages  prevailed 
among  all  the  races  of 
men — a  religious  tradi 
tion  traced  back  to  our 
first  parents,  which,  how 
ever  distorted,  was  a 
proof  of  the  unity  of 
man,  and  prophetic  of 
that  divine  and  redeem 
ing  Sacrifice, which  was 

prefigured  and  predestined  to  be  accomplished  on 

the  Cross  of  Calvary. 

Scarcely  less   interesting   are  the   claims    of 


Nachan  Monolith. 


HISTORICAL   SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


XIX 


Norse  discovery.  The  Northmen  were  the  first 
discoverers  of  America,  and  the  first  to  introduce 
Christianity  on  our  continent  and  country,  in  the 
tenth  and  eleventh  centuries.  This  bold,  reck 
less  and  indomitable  people  were  at  that  time  at 
the  zenith  of  their  power  and  success,  and 
scarcely  a  nation  or  a  people  in  all  Europe  had 
escaped  their  ravages.  They  were  the  maraud 
ers  of  the  ocean,  sea-rovers,  and  vi-kings  of  that 
middle  period.  The  discovery  and  settlement  of 
Iceland  was  followed  by  similar  events  in  Green 
land,  and  it  was  during  this  period  of  great  ad 
venture  that  the  conversion  of  the  mother  coun 
try,  Norway,  under  the  sainted  Olaf  and  Ansgar, 
in  the  pontificate  of  Pope  Sylvester  II.,  was  fol 
lowed  by  the  influx  of  Christian  colonists  into 
Greenland,  accompanied  by  Christian  mission 
aries,  and  the  altars  of  Thor  and  Odin  were 
gradually  supplanted  by  the  altars  of  the  cross^ 


were  the  parents  of  Snorre  Thorfinnson,  the 
first  European  born  on  our  shores,  and  he  was  a 
Christian.  The  episcopal  see  of  Gardar  was 
established  by  Pope  Pascal  II.,  in  1112,  and  Eric, 
the  first  bishop,  burning  with  apostolic  zeal,  vis 
ited  the  colony  of  the  Northmen  at  our  own  Vin- 
land,  and  probably  gave  his  life  in  an  heroic  at 
tempt  to  convert  the  rude  aborigines  to  Chris 
tianity.  The  Norse  settlements  and  colonies  in 
Greenland  and  Vinland  finally  succumbed  under 
the  joint  ravages  of  disease  and  savage  assaults; 
but  they  have  left  the  ruins  of  cathedrals  and 
churches,  and  other  ecclesiastical  relics  and  ruins, 
and  inscriptions  on  the  rocks,  to  attest  the  authen 
ticity  of  this  first  European  discovery  and  colon 
ization  in  America.  The  histories  and  epic  poems 
of  that  rude  age  and  people,  bearing  within  them 
selves  intrinsic  evidences  of  their  authenticity, 
afford  unanswerable  proofs  of  the  claims  of  the 


Dighton  Writing  Rock,  Massachusetts. 


Churches  were  built  in  the  numerous  settlements 
of  Greenland,  and  a.  hierarchy  was  founded  and 
flourished  with  a  succession  of  seventeen  bishops 
established  at  the  Episcopal  city  of  Gardar. 
These  restless  sea-kings  extended  their  voyages 
of  discovery  and  plunder  along  our  own  coasts 
and  Maine,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  and 
probably  the  coasts  as  far  as  the  Chesapeake, 
were  known  to  and  visited  by  them.  In  the  con 
genial  clime  of  Vinland,  now  located  by  careful 
researches  at  and  around  Newport,  Rhode  Island, 
some  of  the  most  daring  and  intelligent  of  the 
Norse  adventurers  founded  a  temporary  home 
and  built  the  dwellings  of  a  few  years.  The 
names  most  celebrated  in  these  events  were  Eric 
the  Red,  Thorwald,  Biarn  Heriulfson,  first  dis 
coverer  of  our  continent,  Leif  Ericson,  first  Chris 
tian  Vi-king,  .Thorstein,  Thorvald,  Thorfinn 
Karlsefne  and  his  wife,  Gudrid.  The  last  two 


Northmen  as  discoverers  of  America  in  the  tenth 
century,  and  as  the  first  to  plant  Christianity 
within  the  boundaries  of  our  Republic.  The 
old  stone  tower  at  Newport,  the  Dighton  Writing 
Rock,  and  Runic  inscrip 
tions  and  relics,  are  claimed 
as  evidences  of  the  Norse 
discoveries.  But  the  Ice 
landic  sagas,  histories,  and 
poems,  are  more  reliable 
and  sufficient  proofs. 

But  the  peerless  glory 
of  a  new  and  permanent 
discovery  of  America  be 
longs  to  the  great  ad 
miral,  Christopher  Co 
lumbus,  who,  with  the 

power  of  genius  and  the  research  of  a  scholar, 
assured  the  world  in  advance  of  the  expected  re- 


Tower  at  Newport 


xx 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH-INTRODUCTORY. 

;ults  who  had  no  doubt  acquired  some  knowledge  Protestant  dispensation,  without  cross  or  priest  or 
of£e  Norse  discoveries,  who  was  fired  with  en-  sacrifice,  until  in  '634  when  under  Lord  Balti- 
Kghtened  enterprise  and  a  high  Christian  pur-  more,  with  a  body  of  English  Ca  hohc  co  omsts, 
pogse,who  sought  by  one  great  achievement  to  Catholicity,  with  cml  and  religious  liberty, 
give  new  continents,  and  to  restore,  by  means  of  founded  an  altar  and  a  cml  constitution  on  the 
fhe  resources  of  the  new  world,  the  Holy  Sepul-  shores  of  St.  Mary's  Raver  in  Maryland,  source 
chre  and  the  sacred  places  of  the  Holy  Land,  to  at  once  of  our  present  Catholic  Church  orgam- 
Christendom.  The  great  discovery  of  1492  was  zation  and  Hierarchy,  and  model  of  our  free  and 

peerless  Constitution. 

French  explorers  and  apostles  entered  the 
field;  Cartier  in  1534,  with  Catholic  priests  and 
colonists,  and  Champlain  in  1609,  founded  what 
became  New  France,  at  the  north  ;  the  Christian 
commonwealth  extended  from  Quebec  to  Mon 
treal,  westward  along  our  northern  lakes,  south 
ward  through  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  to 
Louisiana  and  Texas ;  a  vast  empire,  signalized 
by  a  line  of  military  posts  and  forts,  sites  of  the 
first  Catholic  shrines,  extending  through  a  con 
tinent,  and  ennobled  with  the  presence,  the  labors, 
and  sacrifices  of  a  succession  of  Catholic  mission 
aries,  whose  heroic  lives  and  martyr-deaths  are 
worthy  of  the  best  ages  of  the  Christian  Church. 
The  first  French  movement  gave  jurisdiction  to 
the  Bishop  of  St.  Malo ;  subsequent  ones  ac 
knowledged  the  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  of  the 
Archbishop  of  Rouen.  Thus  a  vast  continent 
and  the  western  Church  became  allied  to  the  an 
cient  Church  of  France. 

Florida,  Texas,  the  Territories  and  States  ac 
quired  by  the  United  States  from  Mexico,  ex 
tending  from  Texas  to  the  Pacific  and  thence 
northward  to  the  boundary  between  California 

followed  by  other  voyages.  In  all  cases  zealous  and  Oregon,  were  discovered,  explored  and  colon- 
Catholic  priests  accompanied  the  expeditions,  and  ized  by  Spanish  admirals,  generals  and  mission- 
by  the  ecclesiastical  law  the  religious  jurisdiction 

over  these  new  and  vast  missions  belonged  to  the 

European  diocese  from  whose  ports  the  respective 

expeditions  sailed.     England  while  still  Catholic 

now  entered  the  field  of  American  discoveries. 

Two  English  voyagers,  John  and  Sebastian  Cabot, 

father  and  son,  sailing  from  the  port  of  Bristol, 

navigated   along   and   landed   on   the   northern 

shores  of  our  continent,  commencing  with  1497, 

and  an  English  Catholic  priest,  within  five  years, 

1502,  chanted  Latin   hymns   and  litanies,  and 

offered  the  Holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  for  the 

earliest     English    congregation     assembled    in 

America.     All   subsequent   English   discoveries 

and  colonies  were  conducted  under  the  new  or 


Christopher  Columbus  on  board  his  Caraval. 


anes.  Saintly  priests  accompanied  the  expedi 
tions.  A  vast  Christian  empire  was  founded, 
acknowledging  the  temporal  dominion  of  the 
King  of  Spain  and  the  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction 
of  the  Archbishop  of  Seville,  all  in  communion 
with  the  See  of  Rome.  In  succession  Spanish 
bishoprics  were  created  in  America.  Thus  the 
See  of  San  Domingo  was  erected  in  1512,  the 
See  of  Santiago  de  Cuba  in  1522,  the  See  of 
Carolensis  in  Yucatan  in  1519,  and  that  of  Mexico 
in  1530.  As  results  of  these  events  episcopal 
sees,  now  within  the  boundaries  of  our  country, 
were  attached  to  Spanish  American,  parent  or 
metropolitan,  sees,  and  the  early  Bishops  of  Lou 
isiana  were  suffragans  of  the  old  Spanish  Sees  of 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


XXI 


San  Domingo  and  Santiago  de  Cuba.  Califor 
nia's  first  bishop  was  suffragan  to  the  See  of 
Mexico,  and  the  dioceses  within  the  Territories 
of  Texas,  New  Mexico  and  Arizona,  have  been, 
iu  recent  times,  separated  from  dioceses  of  Span 
ish  origin  and  woven  into  the  membership  of 
the  American  Catholic  Hierarchy. 

English,  French  and  Spanish  agencies  and 
elements  have  thus  contributed  to  the  early  for 
mation  of  the  Church  and  Hierarchy  of  the  United 
States.  But  prior  to  and  at  the  time  of  the  first 
origin  of  the  American  Hierarchy  by  the  appoint 
ment  of  Rev.  Dr.  John  Carroll,  as  first  Bishop  of 
Baltimore,  with  jurisdiction  extending  over  the 
entire  United  States  and  the  Territories,  the  Eng 
lish  colonies,  now  independent  States,  had  been 
and  were  under  the  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  of 
the  Vicars  Apostolic  of  London,  and  from  an 
English  Catholic  bishop  he  received  consecration. 
The  London  Vicariate-Apostolic,  which  has  grown 
to  be  the  present  Archdiocese  of  Westminster,  an 
ancient  English  see  restored,  was  thus  the  parent 
of  American  dioceses.  Afterwards  Spanish  and 
French  territories  were  acquired  or  annexed  to  the 
United  States.  The  Church  accepted  the  civil  or 
ganization.  She  transferred  the  old  Spanish  and 
French  churches  and  dioceses  to  the  American 
Hierarchy.  The  French  and  Spanish  elements 
were  absorbed  and  became  incorporated  with  dio 
ceses  and  provinces  which  emanated  or  whose 
bishops  received  consecration  from,  or  were  suffra 
gan  to,  the  Diocese  of  Baltimore,  the  immediate 
parent  of  American  dioceses.  The  struggle  be 
tween  England,  France  and  Spain,  for  American 
sovereignty,  resulted  in  England's  success.  The 
United  States  having  succeeded  to  the  rights  and 
possessions  of  England,  at  the  treaty  of  peace 
and  recognition  of  our  independence,  the  Church 
accommodated  herself  to  the  political  situation, 
and  Dr.  Carroll,  the  patriarch  of  the  American 
Church,  went  to  England  for  his  consecration. 
Like  the  parent  country  then,  America  became 
and  has  remained  to  our  day  a  missionary  land, 
governed  through  the  Congregation  of  the  Pro 
paganda  by  the  See  of  Rome.  Such  was  the 
origin  of  the  present  imposing  Hierarchy  of  the 
United  States,  of  which  we  will  give  hereafter  a 
more  detailed  account. 

As  already  intimated,   after  the  apostacy  of 
England  from  the  faith  of  Edward  the  Confessor, 


St.  Anselm,  St.  Thomas  of  Canterbury  and  Sir 
Thomas  More,  the  yearning  of  English  Catho 
lics  to  escape  the  direful  persecutions,  under 
which  they  suffered  at  home,  developed  into 
schemes  of  American  colonization,  and  resulted 
in  founding  here  an  asylum  for  Catholics  seeking 
civil  and  religious  liberty  and  freedom  of  con 
science.  Thus  the  penal  laws  of  England  against 
Catholics  became  woven  in  with  the  histoty  of 
the  Catholic  Church  in  America.  In  England 
the  Holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  the  central  force 
in  Catholic  external  worship,  was  denounced  as 
an  abomination  and  was  prohibited,  and  Catho 
lics  could  not  exercise  their  religious  rights  even 
in  their  own  homes,  which,  under  the  law  of 
England,  were  their  castles  for  every  purpose  ex 
cept  for  religious  worship.  The  religious  pic 
tures  and  images  of  Catholics  were  broken  up, 
the  clergy  driven  from  their  churches.  To  as 
sert  or  support  the  supremacy  of  the  Sovereign 
Pontiff,  the  successor  of  St.  Peter,  was  punished 
with  oppressive  fines.  Catholics  could  not  enter 
the  universities  their  ancestors  had  founded  and 
endowed ;  the  learned  professions  were  closed 
against  them ;  they  were  excluded  from  public 
office.  A  second  offence  was  punished  with 
death.  The  oath  of  supremacy  alone  could  save 
the  victim,  and  that  was  equivalent  to  open  apos 
tacy  ;  a  refusal  to  take  the  oath  was  punished 
with  death.  The  clergy  had  disappeared  from 
the  face  of  the  land,  exile  or  death  had  decimated 
their  ranks,  and  a  few  only  remained,  who  were 
secreted  with  the  families  of  the  faithful  to  offer 
the  divine  sacrifice,  administer  the  sacraments, 
preserve  the  faith  in  those  families  by  clandestine 
ministrations  and  instructions,  and  maintain  a 
succession  of  priests.  The  Church  struggled 
for  existence  by  establishing  a  seminary  for 
training  priests  on  the  continent  at  Douay.  To 
suppress  the  Catholic  faith  entirely,  it  was  made 
high  treason  to  pronounce  the  queen  a  heretic, 
to  introduce  any  document  from  Rome,  to  give 
or  receive  absolution,  and  perpetual  imprisonment 
was  the  fate  of  those  who  should  possess  an 
Agnus  Dei,  rosary,  cross  or  picture  blessed  by 
the  Pope  or  other  ecclesiastic.  Those-who  fled 
the  country  were  required  to  return  within  six 
months  or  have  all  their  property  confiscated. 
The  people  were  punished  with  fines  and  im 
prisonment  for  not  attending  Protestant  worship. 


XX11 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


or  for  hearing  mass,  or  for  keeping  a  Catholic 
prayer-book  or  other  objects  of  devotion.  Queen 
Elizabeth  ruthlessly  enforced  this  black  code 
against  priest  and  layman,  and  Catholic  subjects 
were  hounded  without  discrimination. 

Penal  laws  at  home  became  the  fountain  from 
which  free  institutions  sprang  up  abroad,  for  the 
oppressed  Catholics  saw  their  only  hope  in  efforts 
to  consecrate  in  America  a  sanctuary  for  the  con 
science.  The  efforts  of  Lord  Baltimore  were  pre 
ceded  by  a  brave  attempt  of  two  other  Catholic 
knights — Sir  George  Peckham  and  Sir  Thomas 
Gerard — to  found  a  colony  for  Catholics  at  Nu- 
renibega,  within  Newfoundland  as  then  defined, 
but  which  was,  in  fact,  within  the  present  limits 
of  the  State  of  Maine.  Ostensibly,  the  Church 
of  England  was  alone  mentioned  in  the  charter 
granted  by  Queen  Elizabeth,  but  it  was  broad 
enough  to  cover  and  protect  Catholic  colonists, 
provided  no  laws  were  enacted  hostile  to  the  Es 
tablished  Church  of  England.  The  expedition 
sailed  from  England  on  June  n,  1583,  under  Sir 
Humphrey  Gilbert ;  the  port  of  St.  John,  New 
foundland,  was  entered,  a  landing  effected,  the 
country  taken  possession  of  in  the  name  of  the 
queen,  and  thence  they  proceeded  for  Nurem- 
bega.  But  the  expedition  was  overtaken  by 
storm ;  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert  and  his  compan 
ions  perished  at  sea,  meeting  their  fate  cour 
ageously.  The  other  vessels,  with  the  brave  sur 
vivors,  finally  reached  England. 

The  next  effort  to  fcmnd  an  asylum  in  Amer 
ica,  for  persecuted  English  Catholics,  was  made  in 
1605  by  Winslade,  who  had  served  in  the  Span 
ish  Armada.  The  expedition  sailed  March  5, 
1605,  reached  the  American  coast,  made  Cape 
Cod,  which  they  called  St.  George's,  whence  they 
planted  a  cross,  landed  at  Booth  Bay,  which  they 
called  Pentecost  Harbor,  where  another  cross  was 
erected,  and  ascended  the  Kennebec  River.  Lord 
Arundel  was  a  patron  of  this  undertaking,  which 
included  in  its  high  purposes  the  evangelization 
of  the  Indians.  The  expedition  was  not  success 
ful  ;  had  it  been  otherwise,  New  England  might 
have  been  Catholic  instead  of  Puritan. 

The  next  Catholic  movement  was  made  under 
Sir  George  Calvert,  afterwards  Lord  Baltimore. 
In  1620,  before  he  became  a  Catholic,  he  pur 
chased  the  south-east  peninsula  of  Newfound 
land,  and  sent  out  a  colony  under  Captain  Ed 


ward  Wynne  at  Ferryland.  In  1624  ne  an 
nounced-  his  conversion  as  a  Catholic,  without 
forfeiting  the  friendship  of  King  James  I.,  who 
raised  him  to  the  peerage  under  the  title  of  Lord 
Baltimore,  and  gave  him  estates  in  Ireland. 
Calvert  sailed  for  America  himself  in  1627, 
reached  Avalon,  as  it  was  then  called,  with  col 
onists  and  supplies,  and  accompanied  by  two 
seminary  priests — Fathers  Longvill  and  An 
thony  Smith.  The  colonists  were  not  all  Cath 
olics,  but  Lord  Baltimore  accorded  freedom  of 
worship  to  his  Protestant  colonists,  who  had  the 
ministration  of  Rev.  Win.  Stourton.  But  this 
ungrateful  man,  on  his  return  to  England,  filed 
an  information  against  Lord  Baltimore  for  per 
mitting  mass  to  be  said  in  the  very  land  where 
religious  liberty  was  given  to  Stourton  and  his 
flock.  In  1628  Lord  Baltimore  came  out  again 
to  Avalon,  with  most  of  his  family,  to  remain 
there,  and  was  accompanied  by  another  priest — 
Father  Hacket.  Perfect  freedom  of  conscience 
was  granted  to  all  who  took  part  in  the  colony 
of  Avalon  by  Lord  Baltimore,  who,  rising  above 
the  bigotry  of  his  times,  thus  commenced  in 
Newfoundland  that  sublime  system  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty,  which  his  son  Cecilius  after 
wards  so  nobly  perfected  in  Maryland.  Finding 
the  climate  too  severe,  Lord  Baltimore  sailed 
with  his  family  southward,  and  it  was  Lady 
Baltimore  who,  delighted  with  the  country 
around  Chesapeake  Bay,  urged  her  husband  to 
select  that  region  for  his  settlement.  They  vis 
ited  Virginia  in  October,  1629,  and  although  he 
was  a  member  of  the  Virginia  company,  he  was 
repulsed  from  her  shores  by  Governor  Pott  and 
an  official  named  Clayborne,  who  afterwards  be 
came  his  bitter  opponent  in  Maryland,  who  de 
manded  that  he  should  take  the  oath  of  suprem 
acy.  The  noblest  of  Englishmen  of  his  day  was 
not  prepared  to  betray  the  ancient  faith  of  all 
Englishmen,  to  which  he  had  just  returned,  and 
in  which  the  enjoyment  of  a  free  conscience  was 
worth  to  him  exile  and  every  danger,  labor  and 
privation.  Leaving  his  family  in  Virginia,  Lord 
Baltimore  returned  to  England. 

He  had  already  written  from  Avalon  to  King 
Charles  I.  on  August  19,  1629,  petitioning  for  a 
grant  of  land  in  Virginia  and  the  enjoyment  of 
the  same  privileges  granted  him  in  Newfound 
land.  On  arriving  at  home  Lord  Arundel  joined 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


XXllt 


him  in  his  application ;  the  charter  for  a  colony 
and  grant  of  land  in  Virginia  were  bestowed,  but 
on  the  vehement  protest  of  Clayborue  and  other 
Virginia  officials,  who  saw  ruin  to  them  from  a 


Lord  Baltimore. 

Catholic  colony  in  their  vicinity,  was  constrained 
to  revoke  it.  On  the  persevering  request  of  Lord 
Baltimore  a  grant  of  land  was  made  to  him  to  the 
northward  on  the  Chesapeake  and  a  charter  for 
Maryland,  named  Terra  Maritz,  in  complimen 
to  the  Queen  Henrietta  Maria.  The  charter  was 
a  liberal  one,  and  secured  to  the  colonists  and 
the  Lord  Proprietary  legislative  power  of  a  broad 
scope.  Before  the  charter  received  the  .great 
seal,  George  Calvert,  first  Lord  Baltimore,  died, 
and  his  son,  Cecilius  Calvert,  second  Lord  Balti 
more,  succeeded  to  his  estates,  to  his  virtues,  his 
plans  and  statesmanship,  and  obtained  the  same 
charter  to  be  issued  to  himself.  In  June,  1632, 
Lord  Baltimore  prepared  to  carry  the  noble  pur 
pose  of  his  illustrious  father  into  effect.  Ves 
sels  were  provided,  conditions  of  settlement  is 
sued  and  a  colony  organized.  The  leaders  and 
controllers  of  the  enterprise  were  Catholic  gen 
tlemen  ;  the  artisans,  laborers  and  servants  were 
Catholics  and  Protestants,  between  whom  no 
distinction  was  made.  Many  have  supposed  that 
of  these  latter  the  Protestants,  artisans  and 
people,  were  the  more  numerous,  but  there  are 
many  unanswerable  facts  and  cogent  reasons  for 
adopting  the  opposite  view,  as  will  be  seen  in 
these  pages.  While  the  followers  of  each  re 
ligion  had  the  privilege  of  carrying  clergymen 


of  their  respective  creeds  and  clmrches,  the  Prot 
estants  were  too  few  or  too  weak  to  carry  a  Prot 
estant  minister,  while  the  Catholic  colonists  were 
accompanied  by  the  learned  and  saintly  apostle 
of  Maryland,  Father  Andrew  White,  and  Father 
John  Altham,  or  Gravenor,  members  of  the 
English  Province  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  and 
Thomas  Gervase,  a  lay  brother.  The  Fathers 
and  their  companions,  servants  and  lay  coadjutors 
were  entitled  to  take  up  lands  and  provide  for 
their  support  like  the  other  colonists.  They 
were  no  charge  on  Lord  Baltimore.  The  expedi 
tion  was  placed  in  charge  of  Leonard  Calvert,  a 
brother  of  the  baron,  who  was  appointed  gover 
nor  of  Maryland,  and  the  vessels  consisted  of 
Lord  Baltimore's  own  pinnace,  the  Dove,  Robert 
Winter,  captain,  and  the  Ark,  a  chartered  vessel, 
Richard  Lowe,  captain.  Jerome  Hawley  and 
Thomas  Cornwaleys  were  united  in  the  commis 
sion  with  the  governor  and  were  his  privy  coun 
cillors,  and  Richard  Gerard,  a  son  of  Sir  Thomas 
Gerard,  who  has  already  been  mentioned  as  a  lead 
ing  man  in  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert's  expedition 
of  a  similar  character  to  Newfoundland.  After 
much  opposition  and  many  annoyances,  designed 
to  delay  or  defeat  the  expedition,  none  of  which 
daunted  the  brave  heart  of  the  Catholic  noble 
man  or  of  Governor  Calvert  and  his  companions, 
the  Ark  and  the  Dove,  freighted  with  the  precious 
hope  of  freedom  and  of  conscience,  the  pioneers 
of  our  own  free  institutions,  the  founders  and 
legislators  of  civil  and  religious  liberty  in  Amer 
ica,  sailed  amid  the  prayers  and  benedictions  of 
the  just  and  good,  from  Cowes,  on  November  22, 

1633- 

"  Less  cruel  than  tyrants,  who  sought  to  enslave 
Fair  Liberty's  offspring,  Atlantic's  broad  wave 
Received  her  last  hope  from  the  mother's  own  hand, 
And  wafted  it  safely  to  Afary'sfree  land." 

After  a  stormy  and  protracted  voyage  the 
colonists  reached  the  Chesapeake  Bay  in  March, 
1634.  Father  White  wrote  a  detailed  relation  of 
the  voyage,  which  gives  us  a  most  edifying  ac 
count  of  this  passage  from  the  land  of  persecu 
tion  to  freedom's  chosen  shores.  The  devotions 
and  pious  observances  of  the  colonists  are 
graphically  described ;  the  Protestants,  one  would 
infer,  were  few,  from  the  exclusively  Catholic 
character  of  every  act  performed,  every  litany 
chanted,  and  every  name  given  to  the  points  of 


XXIV 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


land  they  passed.  The  Potomac  was  named  St. 
Gregory's,  and  then  followed  Capes  St.  Gregory 
and  St.  Michael,  the  islands  of  St.  Clement,  St. 
Catharine  and  St.  Cecilia.  On  March  25,  1634, 
they  landed  on  St.  Clement's  Island,  and  what 
followed  we  will  give  in  Father  White's  own  lan 
guage  in  his  Rclatio  Itineris  as  translated  : 
"  The  year  1634  we  celebrated  the  Mass  for  the 


Celebrating  Mass  for  the  first  time  on  St.  Clements. 


first  time  on  this  island  (St.  Clement's).  This 
had  never  been  done  before  in  this  part  of  the 
world.  After  we  had  completed  the  sacrifice,  we 
took  upon  our  shoulders  a  great  cross  which  we 
had  hewn  out  of  a  tree,  and  advancing  in  order 
to  the  appointed  place,  with  the  assistance  of  the 
governor  and  his  associates,  and  the  other  Catho 
lics,  we  erected  a  trophy  to  Christ  the  Saviour, 
humbly  reciting  on  our  bended  knees  the  Lita 
nies  of  the  Sacred  Cross  with  great  emotion." 

Thus  was  founded  the  Land  of  the  Sanctuary, 
where  all  might  worship  and  none  be  oppressed'. 
From  St.  Clement's  Governor  Calvert  visited  the 


Indian  tribes  on  the  St.  Mary's  river,  St.  Inigoes 
and  the  Indian  town,  where  King  Yaocomoco  held 
sway,  and  he  purchased  from  the  king  a  terri 
tory  of  thirty  miles.     Due  ceremonies  were  ob 
served  in  taking  possession.     The  Indian  town, 
whose  inhabitants  were  already  abandoning  their 
homes  in  fear  of  the  fierce  Susquehannas,  was 
selected  as  the  site  of  the  settlement.     It  was 
called  St.  Mary's,  and  here  the  capital  of  the 
colony  was  established,  and  here  an  oblong  oval 
Indian  bark-house  was   assigned   to   the  Jesuit 
Fathers,  who,  with  Brother  Gervase,  soon  con 
verted   it  into  a  chapel.     It  stood  near  the  old 
mulberry  tree,  under   which    Governor   Calvert 
parleyed  with  the  Indians  in  friendly  converse 
and  purchased  and  paid  for  their  lands.     And 
here,  too,  in  St.  Mary's,  Catholic  and  Protestant 
dwelt  together  in  harmony  and  peace. 

The    colonists   were    soon    busy   in   erecting 
houses,  the  soil  was  tilled  and  planted,  and  the 
busy  scenes  of  European  life  were  enacted  in  the 
peaceful  wilderness.     The  zealous  priests  imme 
diately  began  to  evangelize  the  gentle  natives,  to 
study  their  many  dialects  and  found  a  Christian 
Church.     In  1635  another  priest  arrived,  and  in 
1637  Rev-  Thomas  Copley,  known  in  the  Society 
as  Father  Philip  Fisher,  and  Father  John  Knolles, 
came  into  the  harvest,  and  Father  Fisher  became 
superior  of  the  mission.     The  colonists  soon  lo 
cated  their  lands,  each  gentleman  being  entitled 
to   two   hundred   acres    for   every   five   men   he 
brought  over,  and  the  Fathers,  too,  having  no 
other  provision  made  for  them,  availed  themselves 
of  the  same  conditions  of  plantation,  and  thus 
acquired  in  various  localities  bodies  of  land,  the 
culture  of  which  by  their  servants  supported  the 
entire  body  of  the  clergy  in  Maryland  and  main 
tained  the  missions.     To  this  day  the  Jesuit  mis 
sions  and  residences  in  Maryland  stand  on  those 
ancient  sites,  such  as  St.  Inigoes,  St.  George's, 
St.   Thomas'  Manor  and  others.     Great  success 
was  experienced  by  the  Fathers  in  converting  the 
Indians,  and  the  good  example  of  the  converted 
King,    Maquacomen    of    Patuxent,   with   whom 
Father  White  resided  for  some  time,  greatly  aided 
them  in  their  apostolic  work. 

By  the  express  order  of  Lord  Baltimore,  set 
forth  in  a  proclamation  issued  by  him,  perfect 
equality  and  liberty  of  religious  observance  was 
accorded  to  the  Protestants,  who  soon  had  a 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


XXV 


chapel  of  their  own,  in  the  use  and  enjoyment 
of   which    they   were    protected.       In    1637  and 
1638  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Province  was 
convened,  and  all  the  freemen  were  entitled  to  sit 
therein,  including   the  Jesuit  Fathers,  but   the 
latter  preferred  giving  their  undivided  time  and 
labors    to   the   sacred  work  of  the  gospel,  and 
through   their  attorney  or  proxy,   Hon.  Robert 
Clarke,  asked  to  be  excused  from  personal  at 
tendance.     Laws  were  passed  in  1638  for  the  pre 
vention  of  religious  dissension  and  excitement,  and 
for  protecting  all  Christians  in  the  worship  of 
God  according  to  their  conscience.     Fines  were 
imposed  for  the  violation  of  this  colonial  statute. 
Catholics  were  themselves  the  first  to  suffer  the 
penalties    of    this   law.     Lt.    William   Lewis,   a 
Catholic,  was  fined  in  1638  for  denouncing  some 
Protestants  for  reading  aloud  a  book  which  of 
fended  him  in  his  religious  views,  and,  in  1642, 
Dr.  Thomas  Gerard,  another  Catholic,  was  fined 
for  taking  away  the  keys  and  books  of  the  Prot 
estant  chapel.     The  oath  of  office  taken  by  the 
Governors  of   Maryland  from   the  first   proves 
that  religious  liberty  was  the  common  law  of  the 
province  from  its  foundation.     The  oath  read  as 
follows  :  "  And  I  do  further  swear  that  I  will  not 
by  myself  or  any  other  person,  directly  or  indi 
rectly,   trouble,    molest   or   discountenance   any 
person  whatsoever  professing  to  believe  in  Jesus 
Christ,  and  in  particular  no  Roman  Catholic,  for 
or  in  respect  of  religion,  nor  his  or  her  free  ex 
ercise  thereof  within  said  province  .  .  .  nor  will 
I  make  any  difference  of  persons  in  conferring 
offices,  rewards  or  favors  for  or  in  respect  of  their 
said  religion,  but  merely  as  I  shall  find  them 
faithful  and  well  deserving  of  his  said  Lordship 
.  .  .  and  if  any  other  officer  or  person  whatso 
ever  shall  .  .  .  molest  or  disturb  any  person  .  .  . 
professing  to  believe  in  Jesus  Christ,  merely  for 
or  in  respect  of  his  or  her  religion,  in  the  free 
exercise  thereof,  upon  notice  or  complaint  thereof 
made  to  me,  I  will  apply  my  power  and  authority 
to  relieve  any  person  so  molested  or  troubled, 
whereby  he  may  have  right  done  him." 

The  work  of  the  Jesuit  missionaries  was  zealous 
and  untiring.  Father  Brock,  now  Superior  of 
the  mission,  labored,  together  with  a  lay  brother, 
at  St.  Inigoes;  Father  Fisher,  at  St.  Mary's, 
where  a  chapel  and  cemetery  were  erected; 
Father  Altham  labored  among  the  numerous 


Indian  populations  of  Kent  Island,  on  the  Eastern 
Shore  of  Maryland,  and  Father  White  labored 
successfully  over  a  region  of  1 20  miles  in  extent, 
planted  a  large  cross  of  the  mission  at  Kitta- 
maquindi,    the    residence   of    the    Indian   chief, 
Chitomachen,  of  the  Piscataways.     The  conver 
sion  of  this  chief,  his  solemn  reception  into  the 
Church,  and  his  baptism  at  his  capital  town  with 
great  ceremony,  receiving  the  Christian  name  of 
Charles,  on  June  5,  1640,  made  a  deep  impression 
on  the  various  tribes  and  subdivisions  of  tribes. 
The  king's  wife,  who  took  the  name  of  Mary,  and 
her  infant  child,  who  took  the  name  of  Anne, 
were  soon  afterwards  baptized,  as  also  were  his 
chief  councillor  and  the  latter's  son.     These  im 
portant  events  and  ceremonies  took  place  in  the 
new  brick  chapel  erected  expressly  for  the  recep 
tion  of  the  king,  which  was  attended  by  Governor 
Calvert  and  other  officials  of  the  colony.     The 
occasion  was  solemnized  with  every  ecclesiastical 
pomp  the  infant  Church  of  Maryland  could  afford ; 
the  king  and  queen  were  married  according  to  the 
Christian  rite,  a  procession  formed,  and  the  Litany 
of  Our  Lady  of  Loretto  was  chanted,  and  re 
echoed  over  the  beautiful  hills  and  plains.     The 
king  now  conformed  his  life  to  Christian  moral 
ity  ;  his  concubines  were  set  aside,  and  his  con 
duct  and  that  of  his  family  were  most  edifying. 

But  the  young  and  hopeful  Christian  com 
munity  had  its  misfortunes.  The  climatic  dis 
eases  of  that  region  did  not  spare  them,  and  the 
severe  labors  and  exposure  of  the  Fathers  at 
tracted  its  attacks.  Father  Knolles  and  Brother 
Gervase  succumbed,  victims  of  the  sickness,  the 
former  within  two  months  after  his  arrival.  So 
also,  in  1640,  Fathers  White  and  Altham  were 
prostrated  with  sickness ;  the  latter  fell  a  victim 
to  it  and  to  his  exhausting  labors  on  November 
5,  1640;  while  Father  White,  the  main  support 
of  the  missions,  the  master  of  the  Indian  lan 
guages  and  the  trusted  friend  of  the  red  men, 
after  recovery  and  relapse,  finally  got  well ;  but 
Father  Brock,  who  had  exhausted  himself  by  his 
apostolic  labors  among  the  Anacostans,  whose 
king  he  had  converted,  and  who  had  been  Supe 
rior  of  the  mission  from  1638  to  1639,  was 
accidentally  shot  while  crossing  the  St.  Mary's 
river.  His  loss  was  severely  felt. 

In  the  meantime  differences  of  opinion  sprang 
up  among  the  Catholics  as  to  the  soundness  of 


XXVI 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


some  of  the  laws  proposed  for  passage  in  the 
Assembly  according  to  Catholic  teachings ;  the 
Jesuits  were  appealed  to,  and  the  controversy  even 
reached  the  ears  of  the  English  provincial  and 
Lord  Baltimore.      The  latter  was  not  satisfied 
with  the  conduct  of  the  Jesuits  in  questioning  his 
legislation,  on  the  ground  of  its  not  according 
with  correct  Catholic  views,  and  he  even  went  so 
far  as  to  declare  the  grant  of  land  by  the  King  of 
Patuxent  to  the  Jesuits  null  and  void,  and  applied 
to  Rome  for  the  appointment  of  other  mission 
aries  to  replace  the  Jesuits.     Rumors  also  of  a 
hostile  character  were  heard  from  Kent  Island, 
where  Clayborne,  the  inveterate  enemy  of  Lord 
Baltimore   and   of  the  Church,  had  planted   a 
settlement,  and  showed  signs  of  disputing  Gov 
ernor  Calvert's    jurisdiction    over    the    colony. 
Notwithstanding    these    drawbacks,   the   young 
commonwealth   waxed    strong  with    increasing 
population.      New  accessions  from  the  mother- 
country  were   received   every  year,  lands   were 
granted  out  to  settlers  and  cultivated,  improve 
ments  were   erected,  the  Church   flourished   in 
conversions,  both  among  the  Protestant  whites 
and   the  Indians,  and   the   mild   and  generous 
policy  of  Lord  Baltimore,  so  well  executed  by  his 
brother,  Leonard  Calvert,  gave  to  the  statesman 
ship  of  the  world  a  lesson  which  is  bearing  noble 
fruits  to  our  day. 

The  successes  and  reverses  of  the  Maryland 
Church  and  colony  were  both  great  and  seemed 
to  come  together.  The  conversion  of  the  young 
Empress  of  Piscataway,  in  1642,  by  Father  Fisher, 
then  Superior  of  the  missions,  encouraged  their 
untiring  labors.  This  amiable  Christian  princess 
accepted  not  only  Christianity  with  fervor,  but 
also  remained  in  the  mission  for  Christian  educa 
tion  and  for  the  adoption  of  a  civilized  life. 
Father  White,  at  Piscataway,  and  at  all  the  scat 
tered  stations,  accomplished  good  results,  and  he 
continued  to  become  thoroughly  conversant  with 
the  Indian  language.  On  one  occasion  this 
noble  apostle  suffered  greatly  from  the  Puritan 
captain  of  a  vessel,  on  which  he  was  a  passenger 
on  one  of  his  trips  of  mercy,  and  made  a  narrow 
escape  from  being  carried  by  force  to  New 
England,  and  also  from  perishing  in  the  ice. 
But  he  availed  himself  of  the  opportunity  to  visit 
the  neighboring  Indian  town,  and  to  announce 
the  gospel,  which  he  did  with  great  success,  con 


verting  the  chief  of  the  village  and  the  principal 
inhabitants.     Several  whole  families  accepted  the 
faith,  and  it  only  needed  more   missionaries  to 
lead  the  entire  population  to  the  faith.     A  num 
ber  of  Protestants  from  Virginia  were  also  con 
verted,  a  circumstance  which  aroused  the  ani 
mosity  of  the  Virginia  authorities,  and  a  severe 
law,  with  penalties,  was  enacted  against  "  popish 
recusants."     So  great  was  the  success  of  Father 
White  at  Port  Tobacco  that  he  abandoned  Piscat 
away,  exposed  as  it  was  to  the  ravages  of  the 
hostile  Susquehannas,  who  had  attacked  a  mis 
sionary  station  and  slaughtered  all  the  Europeans, 
and  took  up  his  residence  at  the  former  place. 
Father  Fisher,  too,  brought  in  golden  conquests 
of  faith :  the  Queen  of  Patuxent,  and  her  mother, 
the  Queen  of  Port  Tobacco,  the  wife  and  two  sons 
of  Tayac  the  Great,  who  had  been  acknowledged 
as  emperor,  and  130  other  Indians  accepted  the 
faith.     An  account  of  how  the  missionaries  con 
ducted  this  great  and  arduous  work,  as  given  by 
one  of  their  number,  can  but  prove  interesting  : 
"We  are  carried   in   a  pinnace  or  galley    (the 
Father,  the  interpreter,  and  a  servant),  two  row 
ing  when  the  wind  fails  or  is  contrary,  the  other 
steering.     We  take  with  us  a  little  chest  of  bread, 
butter,  cheese,  corn  cut  and  dried  before  ripen 
ing,  beans,  and  a  little  flour ;  another  chest,  with 
a  bottle  of  wine  for  mass,  a  bottle  of  holy-water 
for  baptism,  an  altar-stone,  chalice,  vestments; 
while  a  third  box  contained  trifles  for  presents  to 
the   Indians — bells,  combs,  fish-hooks,  needles, 
thread,  etc. ;  a  small  mat  to  pitch  as  a  tent  when 
they  had  to  sleep  in  the  open  air,  and  a  larger 
one  for  rainy  seasons.     The  servant  is  equipped 
for  hunting  and  for  preparing  food  when  taken. 
In  our  excursions  we  endeavor,  where  possible, 
to  reach  some  English  dwelling  or  Indian  village 
by  nightfall ;  if  not,  we  land,  and  the  missionary 
secures  the  boat,  gathers  wood,  and  builds  a  fire, 
while  the  others  go  out  to  hunt.     If  they  take 
any  game  it  is  prepared ;  if  not,  we  lie  down  by 
the   fire   and   take   our   rest.      If    fear  of   rain 
threatens  we  erect  our  hut,  and  cover  it  with  a 
larger  mat  spread  over,  and,  thank  God,  we  enjoy 
this  humble  fare  with  as  joyful  mind  as  we  did 
more  luxurious  provisions  in  Europe ;  with  this 
present  comfort  that  God  imparts  to  us  now,  a 
foretaste  of  what  He  will  bestow  on  those  who 
labor  faithfully  in  this  life,  and  He  mitigates  all 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


XXVll 


hardships  with  a  sense  of  pleasure,  so  that  His 
Divine  Majesty  appears  to  be  present  with  us  in 
an  extraordinary  manner."  Such  labors  would 
have  resulted  in  the  permanent  civilization  and 
preservation  of  the  Indians  had  they  been  per 
mitted  to  continue ;  but  the  little  commonwealth, 
founded  on  justice  and  on  civil  and  religious 
liberty,  and  the  Church  of  Maryland,  had  tribu 
lations  in  store  for  them.  Lord  Baltimore's 
mistaken  discontent  with  the  Jesuit  Fathers  went 
so  far  as  an  application  to  the  Propaganda  at 
Rome  to  appoint  secular  priests  for  Maryland  and 
a  Vicar,  and  the  application  was  successful.  In 
their  appeal  to  the  Holy  See  the  old  missionaries 
said  :  "  The  Fathers  do  not  refuse  to  make  way 
for  other  laborers,  but  they  humbly  submit  for 
consideration  whether  it  is  expedient  to  remove 
those  who  first  entered  into  that  vineyard  at  their 
own  expense,  who  for  seven  years  have  endured 
want  and  sufferings,  who  have  lost  four  of  their 
number,  laboring  faithfully  unto  death,  who  have 
defended  sound  doctrine  and  the  liberty  of  the 
Church,  incurring  odium  and  temporal  loss  to 
themselves,  who  have  acquired  the  languages  of 
the  Indians."  It  is  to  the  credit  of  the  secular 
priests,  who  were  sent  over  to  replace  the  Jesuits, 
no  less  than  to  the  Jesuits  themselves,  that  the 
former  supported  the  course  of  the  latter,  and 
made  a  clear  and  just  statement  of  the  case  for 
the  decision  of  their  common  superiors.  Finally 
a  reconciliation  was  effected  between  Lord  Balti 
more  and  the  Jesuits,  but  upon  terms  severe  upon 
the  latter;  and  two  new  Fathers,  with  the  ap 
proval  of  Lord  Baltimore,  came  out  in  1642. 
The  field  was  left  entirely  to  the  Jesuits  again, 
and,  though  discouraged,  they  labored  with  heroic 
zeal. 

The  harsh  treatment  meted  out  to  Puritans  in 
Virginia  had  driven  many  of  them  from  that  col 
ony;  Lord  Baltimore  had  received  them  with 
hospitality,  and  extended  over  them  the  protec 
tion  of  religious  liberty,  as  guaranteed  by  his 
proclamation.  The  royal  authority  in  England 
was  now  overthrown  and  the  Puritan  party  had 
become  powerful.  But  these  proved  to  be  un 
grateful.  In  1645  tne  Puritans,  aided  and 
abetted  by  Clayborne,  the  bitter  enemy  of  Catho 
lics  and  of  Lord  Baltimore,  and  led  on  by  one 
Ingle,  a  sea-captain  and  man  of  desperate  char 
acter,  assumed  a  hostile  attitude  towards  the 


colony,  held  Kent  Island  by  force  against  Gov 
ernor  Calvert's  efforts  to  recover  it,  and,  resolving 
to  overthrow  the  Proprietary  Government,  invaded 
St.  Mary's  county,  drove  out  the  governor,  who 
was  forced  to  seek  shelter  in  Virginia,  and  plun 
dered  the  houses  of  the  leading  Catholics,  such 
as  Cornwaleys,  Clarke,  Fenwick,  and  others. 
The  Jesuit  Fathers  were  also  special  objects  of 
their  cruelty  and  plunder,  and  the  missionary 
residences  and  estates  at  Potopaco  and  St.  Inigoes 
were  pillaged  and  almost  destroyed,  and  the  ven 
erable  Father  White  and  Father  Thomas  Copley 
were  seized,  thrown  into  prison  and  ironed,  treated 
with  great  cruelty  and  were  finally  sent  to  Eng 
land  as  prisoners.  In  England  these  two  noble 
confessors  of  the  faith  were  indicted  under  the 
penal  laws  against  Catholic  priests,  and  although 
they  pleaded  the  violence  by  which  they  had  been 
brought  into  England  against  their  will  and  could 
not  be  lawfully  convicted,  they  were  by  special 
order  sent  into  perpetual  banishment.  Exhausted 
with  age,  the  labors  of  the  Maryland  mission, 
the  cruelty  he  suffered  from  Ingle  and  Clayborne, 
Father  White  sank  into  the  grave,  predicting  the 
day  of  his  death,  and  receiving  the  last  call  with 
heroic  virtue;  he  died  on  December  27,  1656,  at 
the  residence  of  an  English  nobleman  in  Hamp 
shire,  near  the  residence  of  St.  Thomas  of  Can 
terbury.  His  purity  of  life,  his  great  learning, 
his  indomitable  courage  and  ardent  zeal,  all 
crowned  by  his  heroic  death,  entitle  him  to  rank 
among  the  noble  martyrs  of  the  Church.  Other 
Fathers  remained  in  Maryland  after  the  abduc 
tion  of  Fathers  White  and  Copley  to  continue 
the  difficult  work,  but  these  two  were  hounded 
down  by  the  Puritans ;  some  met  death  with  noble 
faith  and  courage,  others  fled  to  Virginia.  At 
the  end  of  this  period,  shameful  in  itself  yet  no 
ble  in  its  record  of  heroism,  there  was  not  a  Jesuit 
to  be  found  in  Maryland,  "  the  land  of  the  Sanc 
tuary,"  which  they  had  founded  and  thrown  open 
to  the  very  men  who  now  destroyed  their  bene 
factors. 

With  the  overthrow  of  Lord  Baltimore's  au 
thority  and  possession  in  Maryland,  the  Mary 
land  Church  too  was  banished.  Lord  Baltimore, 
thinking  all  was  lost,  sent  orders  for  packing  up 
and  removing  his  personal  effects.  But  his  more 
resolute  brother,  Governor  Leonard  Calvert,  as 
sembled  a  force  in  Virginia,  and  returning  to 


XXV111 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


Maryland  suddenly  recaptured  the  province  for 
the  Lord  Proprietary,  and  the  Jesuit  Missions  too 
were  again  restored.  About  this  time  again  Lord 
Baltimore  made  another  effort  at  Rome  to  obtain 
secular  missionaries,  but  without  success.  Fathers 
Copley  and  Starkey,  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  re 
sumed  their  labors  with  the  whites  and  among 
the  Indians.  Governor  Calvert,  however,  spent 
with  the  labors  and  hardships  of  his  arduous  task, 
soon  afterwards  succumbed,  and  died  on  June  9, 
1647,  leaving  behind  him  an  illustrious  name 
among  enlightened,  wise,  and  just  law-givers  of 
the  world.  Thomas  Green  succeeded  as  governor. 

The  increased  immigration  of  Catholics  from 
England  and  the  conversions  effected  by  the 
Fathers  among  the  Protestant  inhabitants  had 
given  the  undoubted  numerical  majority  of  popu 
lation  to  Catholics,  and  the  government  and  con 
trol  of  the  colony  were  still  in  Catholic  hands. 
Lord  Baltimore  appointed  William  Stone,  a 
Protestant,  as  governor  in  that  year,  exacting 
from  him  the  oath  in  support  of  religious 
liberty. 

But  now  we  approach  the  proudest  event  in  the 
history  of  Catholic  Maryland,  first  fruits  of  the 
assembly  convened  at  St.  Mary's,  on  April  2, 
1649,  by  Governor  Stone,  acting  under  Lord  Bal 
timore's  orders.  This  illustrious  body  was  com 
posed  of  the  Protestant  Governor  Stone,  who  was, 
however,  the  immediate  representative  of  the 
Catholic  Proprietary,  and  Thomas  Greene  and 
Robert  Clarke,  privy  councillors,  and  of  nine 
burgesses,  Cuthbert  Fenwick,  William  Brettou, 
George  Manners,  John  Maunsell,  Thomas  Tliorn- 
borough,  and  Walter  Peake,  Catholics,  and  Philip 
Conner,  Richard  Banks,  and  Richard  Browne, 
Protestants.  The  great  act  of  Religious  Liberty 
was,  with  many  other  laws,  prepared  in  England, 
and  sent  over  by  Lord  Baltimore  to  Maryland  for 
the  action  of  the  Assembly,  and  was  unanimously 
enacted  by  a  body  composed  chiefly  of  Catholics, 
and  approved  by  the  Lord  Proprietary  on  August 
26,  1650.  The  enactments  of  this  Charter  of 
Liberty  had  been  as  so  many  principles  and 
orders  of  the  Proprietary  and  his  brother,  Gov 
ernor  Calveit,  in  practice  and  enforcement  in 
Maryland  from  the  foundation  of  the  colony, 
forming  a  sort  of  common  law  of  the  land.  But 
now  it  was  resolved  to  give  permanency  and  stat 
utory  sanction  to  the  honored  rule  not  only  for 


the  protection  of  Protestants  but  also  for  that  of 
Catholics,  and  wisely  so,  for  in  such  a  community 
majorities  were  apt  to  fluctuate.  The  gist  of  the 
statute,  after  forbidding  and  punishing  violence 
of  religious  controversy  and  opprobrious  epithets 
and  names  in  religious  disputes,  contains  the  fol 
lowing  noble  enactment :  "  And  whereas  the  en 
forcement  of  conscience  in  matters  of  religion 
hath  frequently  fallen  out  to  be  of  dangerous  con 
sequence  in  those  commonwealths  where  it  has 
been  practised,  and  for  the  more  quiet  and  peace 
able  government  of  this  Province,  and  the  better 
to  preserve  mutual  love  and  unity  among  the  in 
habitants,  no  person  or  persons  whatsoever  within 
this  Province  or  the  islands,  ports,  harbors,  creeks, 
or  havens  thereunto  belonging,  professing  to  be 
lieve  in  Jesus  Christ,  shall  from  henceforth  be 
any  way  troubled  or  molested,  or  discountenanced, 
for  or  in  respect  of  his  or  her  religion,  in  the  free 
exercise  thereof,  within  this  Province  or  the 
islands  thereunto  belonging,  nor  any  way  com 
pelled  to  the  belief  or  exercise  of  any  other  relig 
ion,  against  his  or  her  consent." 

Not  only  has  this  great  statute  received  the 
praise  of  George  Bancroft  in  his  History  of  the 
United  States,  and  of  numerous  illustrious 
historians  and  commentators,  but  also  Chalmers 
in  his  Annals  says  that  Lord  Baltimore  "  laid 
the  foundation  of  his  province  upon  the  broad 
basis  of  security  to  property  and  of  freedom  of 
religion."  And  Judge  Story  in  his  Commen 
taries  on  the  Constitution  says  that  Lord  Balti 
more  "introduced  into  his  fundamental  policy 
the  doctrine  of  general  toleration  and  equality 
among  Christian  sects."  Dr.  Dollinger,  too,  in 
his  work,  The  Church  and  the  Churches,  and  his 
words  will  be  received  with  great  respect  by  all 
Protestants  at  least,  says  :  "  The  first  who  were 
in  earnest  about  religious  freedom,  and  who 
really  placed  the  two  religions  on  an  equality, 
were  the  Catholic  Englishmen,  who,  towards  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  founded  the 
colony  of  Maryland,  under  the  leadership  of 
Lord  Baltimore."  Thus,  too,  Thomas  Coit,  a 
Protestant  author,  in  his  Puritanism,  or  a  Church* 
man's  Defence,  writes :  "  In  Maryland,  as  the 
Roman  Catholics  claim,  the  rights  of  conscience 
were  first  really  acknowledged  in  this  country. 
This  is  a  fact  I  never  knew  disputed  by  good 
authority,  and  though  a  Protestant,  with  all  my 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


XXIX 


heart  I  accord  them  the  full  praise  of  it  with  the 
frankest  sincerity." 

Maryland  now,  with  a  majority  of  Catholic 
inhabitants,  estimated  at  three-fourths,  seemed 
destined  to  a  career  of  peace  and  prosperity. 
The  missions  were  sustained  with  great  zeal  by 
the  Fathers,  and  Lord  Baltimore,  in  order  to  en 
courage  the  conversion  of  the  Indians,  in  1651 
granted  the  remnants  of  Mattapanies,  Wi- 
comicans,  Patuxents,  Lamascousons,  Highawis- 
cons,  and  Chapticons,  ten  thousand  acres  of 
land. 

In  the  same  year,  1651,  a  note  of  warning  to 
Catholics  was  heard  in  an  obnoxious  oath  pre 
scribed  by  a  Legislature  in  which  the  Protestants 
predominated  and  required  of  all,  but  which 
many  Catholics  refused.  This  was  soon  followed 
up  in  the  following  year  by  the  overthrow  of  the 
Proprietary  Government  by  Clayborne  and 
Bennet,  who  were  the  commissioners  represent 
ing  the  Commonwealth  of  England ;  Catholics 
were  prohibited  from  voting  or  sitting  in  the 
Assembly,  and  direct  laws  were  passed  prohibiting 
the  practice  of  the  Catholic  faith.  The  Catho 
lics,  led  on  by  the  Protestant  Governor  Stone, 
organized  a  force  and  made  a  stand  for  civil  and 
religious  liberty ;  the  battle  of  the  Severn  was 
fought,  and  the  Puritans  were  victorious.  The 
missionaries  barely  succeeded  in  effecting  their 
escape,  while  their  books  and  other  property  fell 
into  the  hands  of  their  enemies.  Maryland  was 
again  without  priests  and  without  a  church. 
But  when  the  Commonwealth  fell  and  the 
Stuarts  resumed  the  English  throne,  the  Pro 
prietary  Government  of  Maryland  was  restored 
and  the  Jesuit  missions  opened  again.  Protes 
tants  now  outnumbered  the  Catholics,  and  the 
position  of  the  latter  was  precarious. 

During  the  period  from  1669  to  1690  Jesuits 
and  Franciscans  were  both  in  the  Maryland 
missions,  and  worked  together,  and  in  1677  the 
first  Catholic  school  of  Maryland  resulted  from 
this  increase  of  the  cleigy.  This  place  of  study 
was  a  preparation  for  St.  Omer's,  and  its  scholars 
went  to  the  latter  place  for  the  completion  of 
their  education,  until  we  possessed  our  own  col 
lege,  at  Georgetown,  after  the  Revolution.  While 
but  one  school  existed  in  Maryland,  numerous 
churches  were  built  with  the  means  supplied  by 
the  generous  Catholics,  and  Protestants,  indif 


ferent  at  first,  had  gradually  erected  a  number 
of  their  own  churches. 

The  religious  war  of  Europe,  which  followed 
this  period,  between  Protestant  England  and 
Catholic  France  and  Spain,  extended  even  to 
America,  and  in  Maryland  an  attack  was  made 
against  the  government  of  Lord  Baltimore, 
having  for  its  avowed  purpose  the  defence  of  the 
Protestant  religion,  a  pretext  which  was  not 
suited  to  Maryland,  where  religious  liberty  was 
secured  under  the  Baltimores  by  common  law, 
proclamation  and  statute.  Now  William  of 
Orange  proclaimed  Maryland  a  royal  province, 
and  an  act  was  passed  b}'  the  Legislature,  from 
which  Catholics  were  excluded,  for  the  establish 
ment  of  the  Protestant  religion  in  Catholic 
Maryland. 

The  Church  of  England  once  established,  not 
only  excluded  and  punished  Catholics,  but  also 
Puritans,  thus  repaying  the  latter  for  their  in 
gratitude  by  turning  upon  the  very  Catholics 
who  had  received  and  protected  them  in  the 
province.  The  seat  of  the  provincial  gov 
ernment  was  removed  from  St.  Mary's  to  the 
Protestant  county  of  Anne  Aruudel  against  the 
earnest  protests  of  the  mayor,  common  council, 
and  freemen  of  St.  Mary's,  and  the  latter  place 
became  a  mere  name  upon  the  map.  The  condi 
tion  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  Maryland  at  this 
epoch  is  learned  from  the  returns  "  of  all  popish 
priests  and  chapels  in  the  province "  made  to 
Governor  Nicholson  by  his  order  in  1696-97. 
St.  Mary's  county  contained  four  chapels,  two 
priests,  and  one  lay-brother;  Charles  county  con 
tained  four  chapels,  three  priests,  and  one  lay- 
brother;  Talbot  county  contained  no  resident 
priests,  though  it  had  been  visited  by  a  priest, 
probably  under  an  assumed  name.  The  names 
of  the  Jesuit  Fathers  then  on  the  Maryland  mis 
sion  were  Fathers  Pennington  and  Hunter, 
Fathers  William  Riddell,  Thomas  Harvey,  and 
Robert  Brooke.  The  chapels  here  alluded  to 
were  not  places  of  public  worship,  but  mere 
chapels  attached  in  most,  if  not  all  instances,  to 
private  residences,  and  forming  externally  a  part 
of  the  messuage.  Such  was  the  Protestant  feel 
ing  against  Catholics  that,  during  the  pestilence 
which  visited  Maryland  in  1670,  when  the  scarc 
ity  of  Protestant  ministers  threw  nearly  the  entire 
care  and  visitation  of  the  sick  on  the  Catholic 


XXX 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


Fathers,  the  works  and  visits  of  mercy  and  con 
solation  extended  by  the  Catholic  priests  to  the 
sick  and  dying  were  publicly  and  officially  de 
nounced  as  popish  enormities,  and  Catholic  priests 
were  forbidden  to  visit  the  sick  in  time  of  pesti 
lence.  Attempts  were  made  to  enforce  on  all 
the  external  practice  of  the  established  English 
worship  and  the  use  of  the  Book  of  Common 
Prayer  in  all  places  of  religious  worship,  and 
nothing  but  the  protests  of  Protestant  non 
conformists  prevented  this  from  being  done. 
Lord  Baltimore,  whose  authority  was  but  nomi 
nally  recognized,  was  powerless  to  interfere. 
While  restrictions  were  removed  from  all  non 
conformists,  Catholics,  the  founders  of  the  prov 
ince  and  the  promulgators  of  religious  liberty 
when  in  power,  were  now  the  only  victims  of 
intolerance.  Even  the  first  Catholic  shrine  of 
Maryland,  the  little  chapel  of  St.  Mary's,  was 
forcibly  closed,  and  prosecutions  were  followed 
up  against  any  priest  who  attempted  to  open  or 
bless  a  Catholic  place  of  worship.  Indeed,  many 
Catholic  families  removed  from  their  ancestral 
homes,  and  across  the  borders  of  Pennsylvania, 
for  in  that  province,  under  the  mild  administra 
tion  of  William  Penu,  Catholics  were  more 
tolerated  in  the  observance  of  their  religion  than 
in  their  own  foundation,  "  the  land  of  the  Sanc 
tuary."  Under  all  these  persecutions  Catholics 
seemed  to  increase,  and  several  new  priests  came 
over  from  England  to  labor  in  that  arduous  vine 
yard.  Lord  Baltimore  generously  assisted  the 
hounded  confessors  of  the  faith  in  Maryland. 
But  a  sad  disgrace  was  brought  upon  the  names 
of  Baltimore  and  Calvert  by  the  next  heir  and 
successor  to  the  proprietary  government,  in  the 
person  of  Benedict  Leonard  Calvert,  who  apos 
tatized  from  the  faith  of  his  ancestors  in  order  to 
secure,  under  the  requirements  of  the  British 
government,  the  succession  to  the  title  and  estate 
of  the  Lords  Baltimore.  His  father,  then  living, 
endeavored  to  prevent  this  disgrace,  and  when  he 
attempted  to  deprive  the  apostate  of  his  income 
was  prevented  from  doing  so  by  governmental 
interference.  His  apostacy  occurred  in  1713,  and 
his  young  son  was  brought  up  a  Protestant. 
The  Calverts  and  their  descendants  have  ever 
since  been  Protestants,  and  the  shameful  example 
of  this  degenerate  Lord  Baltimore  caused  many 
Catholics  in  Maryland  to  waver  in  their  faith, 


weakened  there  the  Catholic  cause,  and  led  to 
further  hostile  legislation  against  Catholics,  to 
the  requirements  of  new  oaths  of  allegiance  to 
the  royal  Protestant  head  of  the  Established 
Church,  and  of  an  oath  of  abhorrence  of  the 
Pope's  right  to  depose  recreant  sovereigns  and 
against  transubstantiation.  Catholic  servants 
were  prohibited  from  being  brought  into  the 
province  in  1716,  and  finally  Catholics  were  com 
pletely  disfranchised  in  the  land  they  had  founded 
and  made  illustrious  by  their  justice  and  their 
liberality.  Persecution  seemed  to  fire  the  zeal 
of  the  missionaries,  who  succeeded  in  making 
more  converts  than  ever.  Their  numbers  in 
creased;  they  even  were  emboldened  in  1725  to 
challenge  the  Protestant  ministers  to  public  dis 
cussion  of  their  respective  tenets  of  faith,  but  the 
latter  declined  the  encounter.  The  Jesuits  and 
Franciscans  worked  in  harmony,  and  the  death 
of  Father  Haddock,  the  last  of  the  Franciscan 
missionaries,  who  died  at  one  of  the  houses  of  the 
Jesuits,  in  1720,  ended  the  Franciscan  mission  in 
Maryland,  and  left  the  Jesuits  sole  laborers  in  the 
field.  In  the  midst  of  their  persecutions  the 
Catholics  of  Maryland  were  most  loyal  to  the 
government  and  sovereign  of  England ;  when 
George  II.  ascended  the  throne  they  united  in  an 
address  of  congratulation  and  of  loyalty;  and 
when,  in  1733,  Charles  Lord  Baltimore  visited 
Maryland  in  person,  and  took  an  active  part  in 
the  government  of  the  province,  they  again  united 
in  an  address  of  fealty,  and,  to  their  honor  be  it 
said,  in  their  address  they  reaffirmed  their  attach 
ment  to  the  principle  of  religious  liberty  which 
their  ancestors,  a  hundred  years  before,  had 
promulgated  and  put  in  practice. 

It  is  surprising,  and  yet  most  honorable,  how 
Catholicity  was  not  only  preserved  but  flourished 
in  Maryland  during  the  dark  days  of  Protestant 
ascendency.  Priests,  worshipers  and  chapels 
increased,  and  the  Catholic  school  was  success 
fully  maintained.  The  school  was  finally  re 
moved  to  the  quiet  and  secure  shades  of  the 
flourishing  mission  of  Bohemia  in  1745.  The 
success  of  this  classical  school  was  a  marvel ;  the 
number  of  scholars  averaged  about  forty,  includ 
ing  the  sons  of  the  leading  Catholic  families. 
John  Carroll,  afterwards  first  Bishop  of  the 
American  Church,  was  also  a  student  of  the  Bo 
hemia  school,  which  in  fact  was  the  precursor  of 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


XXXI 


the  present  University  of  Georgetown.  Its  suc 
cess  was  sustained  amidst  opposition,  calumny, 
and  persecution,  and  the  Jesuits  seemed  to  in 
crease  in  zeal  under  the  harsh  hand  of  oppres 
sion  ;  for  Catholics  were  at  all  times  liable  to 
arrest  and  prosecution ;  calumnies  were  repeatedly 
put  in  circulation  against  them;  in  1746  a  great 
anti-popery  movement  broke  out  against  Catho 
lics,  more  severe  legislation  was  attempted,  which 
act  failed  by  reason  of  its  excessive  penalties ; 
i  and  yet  the  highest  Protestant  testimony  vouches 
for  their  irreproachable  lives  and  conduct.  The 
Catholics  themselves  never  wavered  in  their  pa 
triotism,  and  when  danger  of  a  French  invasion 
from  Fort  du  Quesne  (Pittsburg)  was  appre 
hended,  the  Catholics  were  among  the  first  to 


The  Exile  of  the  Acadians. 

give  their  means  liberally  towards  raising  an 
army  of  defence.  In  the  midst  of  all  these  feel 
ings  there  was  such  a  sense  of  insecurity  that 
many  Catholics  thought  or  even  attempted  to 
emigrate  to  other  parts.  When  the  poor  and  in 
nocent  Acadians  were  expelled  from  their  homes 
in  Canada,  in  1755,  and  landed  in  considerable 
numbers  in  the  various  provinces  on  the  Atlantic 
coast,  Maryland  received  her  share,  but  such  was 
the  feeling  against  all  Catholics,  and  especially 
against  increasing  their  numerical  strength  in  the 
Province,  that  Catholics  were  by  law  and  procla 
mation  forbidden  to  receive  these  suffering  and 
dejected  members  of  their  own  Church  into  their 
houses,  or  to  render  to  them  any  acts  of  Christian 
charity.  When  war  broke  out  in  Europe  between 


England  and  the  Catholic  powers  of  Spain  and 
France  in  1755,  Catholics  in  Maryland  were  un 
justly  suspected  of  favoring  the  cause  of  the 
Catholic  powers  against  their  own  sovereign,  their 
loyalty  was  publicly  questioned,  and  great  public 
agitation  and  excitement  against  them  was  awak 
ened  and  fomented.  Catholics  appealed  in  vain 
to  their  bright  record ;  hostile  laws  were  revived 
and  new  legislation  undertaken  in  order  to  sup 
press  them.  When  taxation  was  resorted  to  in 
order  to  raise  funds  for  the  defence  of  the  north 
ern  frontier  against  possible  French  invasion,  the 
principle  that  all  taxation  for  a  general  or  com 
mon  cause  must  be  uniform  was  set  aside,  and 
the  tax  imposed  for  this  purpose  on  Catholics  was 
made  double.  It  was  a  common  thing  for  the 
Jesuit  Fathers  to  be  arrested  and  brought  before 
the  courts  on  false  charges.  And  yet  there  were 
not  wanting  a  few  fair-minded  and  just  officials, 
who  bore  the  most  public  and  emphatic  testimony 
to  the  loyalty,  blamelessness,  and  good  citizen 
ship  of  Catholics  and  their  pastors,  throughout 
the  whole  period  of  these  calumnies  and  persecu 
tions.  In  the  midst  of  such  discouragements  the 
Church  was  spiritually  strong  in  the  faith  of  the 
laity,  the  apostolic  labors  of  the  missionaries  and 
•the  loyalty  of  both  to  God  and  country.  It  was 
about  this  period,  1757—58,  that  the  estimated 
number  of  Catholics  in  Maryland  was  ten  thou 
sand  adult  communicants,  and  as  many  more  too 
young  for  receiving  holy  communion.  The  life 
of  the  missionary  was  severe  and  arduous,  a  sin 
gle  mission  extending  over  one  hundred  and 
thirty  miles  in  length  and  thirty  miles  in  breadth  ; 
and  a  missionary's  ordinary  riding  was  about 
three  hundred  miles  a  week,  and  this  was  done 
in  all  weather  and  partially  at  night.  The  Jesuit 
farms-  yielded  income  for  the  support  of  religion, 
and  yet  projects  were  frequently  started  and 
pressed  for  confiscating  all  their  property  and 
suppressing  all  Catholic  worship.  The  success 
of  England  in  the  seven  years'  war  had  strength 
ened  the  Protestants,  and  weakened  the  Catholic 
cause  both  in  Europe  and  in  America. 

In  1774  the  missionary  band  of  Maryland  re 
ceived  an  important  accession  in  the  person  of 
Rev.  John  Carroll,  S.  J.,  who  then  came  from 
England  and  settled  in  his  native  country,  influ 
enced  in  a  great  measure  by  the  growing  discon 
tent  and  misunderstanding  between  the  American 


XXX11 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


colonies  and  the  mother  country.  The  Catholics 
of  Maryland  had  been  subject  to  the  ecclesiasti 
cal  jurisdiction  of  the  Vicars-apostolic  of  London; 
but  the  project  of  providing  them  a  local  bishop 
of  their  own  had  been  mooted  as  long  as  1756, 
and  the  plan  found  supporters  in  England, 
Bishop  Challoner,  of  London,  himself  leading  in 
its  advocacy,  while  the  colonial  missionaries  them 
selves  opposed  it.  Another  project  was  to  have 
the  Bishop  of  Quebec  visit  the  colonies  and  per 
form  for  them  the  functions  of  the  Episcopal 
office,  and  this  was  favored  by  Father  Hunter 
and  others.  The  matter  was  considered  in 
America,  England,  and  at  Rome,  but  no  result 
followed.  In  the  meantime  Catholic  interests 
became  stronger,  prejudice  lessened,  Catholics 
could  now  purchase  land  and  build  a  church, 
as  was  done  for  the  first  time  in  Baltimore,  when 
St.  Peter's  was  built  in  1770. 

But  a  severe  blow  awaited  the  Church  of 
America ;  the  suppression  of  the  Society  of  Jesus 
by  Pope  Clement  XIV.,  July  21,  1773,  which  had 
been  enforced  in  some  of  the  countries  in  Europe, 
was  now  also  put  in  operation  in  the  English 
province  and  in  Maryland  in  October  of  the  same 
year.  The  Jesuits  were  dejected,  as  well  they 
might  be,  after  a  glorious  struggle  for  the  faith 
for  nearly  140  years,  but  they  submitted  heroic 
ally.  Father  Lewis,  their  Superior,  acted  as 
Vicar-General  of  the  London  Bishop,  and  nine 
teen  Fathers  now  served  the  missions  as  seculars. 
These  associated  themselves  together  for  the 
good  and  efficient  prosecution  of  the  good  work, 
but  it  was  a  voluntary  organization ;  so  much  so 
that  Rev.  John  Carroll,  though  in  sympathy  with 
the  movement,  declined  to  join  the  associated 
clergy  until  it  should  receive  the  sanction  of  the 
London  and  Roman  authorities.  The  ardent 
discussions  which  grew  out  of  the  Stamp  Act  in 
the  political  field,  and  those  not  less  heated  ones 
caused  by  the  Quebec  Act,  which  was  passed  by 
the  British  Parliament  to  secure  the  rights  of 
Catholics  in  the  provinces  conquered  by  England 
from  France,  soon  led  to  open  rupture  between 
the  colonies  and  England,  and  the  connection  be 
tween  the  Church  in  America  and  the  Vicars- 
Apostolic  of  London  was  practically  severed. 

Penal  laws  existed  against  Catholics  in  several 
of  the  colonies,  and  yet  the  Church  made  an  en 
trance  there.  Many  Catholics  from  Maryland, 


when  they  were  oppressed  in  their  own  homes, 
found  more  congenial  settlement  in  Pennsylvania 
under  the  tolerant  administration  of  Penn.  The 
Jesuit  missionaries  of  Maryland  extended  their 
apostolic  labors  into  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jer 
sey.  In  1730  Father  Greaton  visited  Pennsyl 
vania  on  missionary  service,  and  other  priests  in 
1741.  In  1744  Father  Schneider  visited  the  . 
Catholics  of  Pennsylvania  near  Frankford  and 
Germantown,  though  Mass  had  been  said  in 
Philadelphia  at  a  much  earlier  period,  and  some 
of  the  Fathers  had  visited  New  Jersey,  and  the 
names  of  Fathers  Greaton,  Farmer,  and  Wapeler 
are  prominent  among  the  priests  visiting  the 
North.  Conewago  became  a  permanent  station, 
and  a  church  built  at  Lancaster  was  burned  in 
1 760,  and  rebuilt.  Philadelphia  had  a  permanent 
mission.  Father  Farmer  visited  New  Jersey, 
and  said  Mass  in  Salem  county  as  early  as  1744. 
In  New  York  the  early  traces  of  Catholicity  are 
faint.  In  1682  New  York  had  a  Catholic  Governor 
under  the  Duke  of  York — Thomas  Dongan — 
who  had  Jesuits  to  conduct  the  Catholic  service, 
and  a  classical  school  was  established.  The  over 
throw  of  James'  power  in  England  and  America 
expelled  the  Catholic  Governor  and  the  mission 
aries.  But  Jesuit  Fathers  from  Maryland  visited 
New  York.  We  have  a  list  of  the  names  of  all 
the  Catholics  in  the  city  in  June,  1696,  being  ten 
in  number;  and  yet,  in  1748,  an  Episcopal  min 
ister  said  there  was  no  trace  of  Catholicity  in 
New  York.  This  certainly  was  the  case  in  New 
England.  In  Virginia  there  were  a  few  Catho 
lics.  The  fewness  of  Catholics  in  New  York  did 
not  protect  the  Protestants  from  fear  of  the  Pope, 
as  witnessed  by  the  Negro  Plot,  in  the  excite 
ment  of  which  one  John  Ury,  supposed  to  be  a 
Catholic  priest,  was  hanged  on  August  15,  1741 ; 
and  after  Penn's  time  stringent  laws  against 
Catholics  were  enacted  in  Pennsylvania,  where, 
however,  Father  Molyneux  managed  to  visit  the 
Indians  at  Lancaster  in  1744.  In  Philadelphia 
old  St.  Joseph's  Church  was  erected,  and  the 
church  lot  in  Willing's  Alley  was  acquired  by' 
the  Jesuits  from  Maryland  in  1752.  Father* 
Schneider  officiated  at  Goshenhoppen,  Father 
Manners  at  Conewago,  and  Father  Farmer  at 
Lancaster.  The  Acadians  from  Newfoundland 
entered  all  the  Atlantic  States,  as  far  south  as 
Georgia,  but  they  ceased  to  be  a  visible  element. 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


XXXUl 


During  the  war  between  England  and  France  for     Hunter,  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  being  now  Su- 


supremacy  in  America  the  loyalty  of  Catholics 
was  unjustly  suspected,  and  the  final  suppression 
of  French  dominion  relieved  Protestants  of  appre 
hension  against  the  Catholics,  whom  they  sus 
pected  of  sympathy  with  the  French.  Father 


perior,  with  a  noble  band  of  missionaries  under 
him,  a  new  impetus  was  given  to  the  Catholic 
missions  in  Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  and  New 
Jersey.  The  history  of  this  development  forms 
a  part  of  our  later  narrative. 


Columbus  raising  the  banner  of  the  Cross  and  of  Spaia 
for  the  first  time  in  the  New  World 


The  Solitude  of  the  New  World. 


PART  II. 

THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  SPANISH  COLONIES. 

The  Spanish  Elements  in  our  Country — The  Spanish  Missions — The  Indians — Illustrious  Missionaries,  Martyrs,  and  Confessors  of 
the  Faith— Spaniards  and  Dominicans  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay  in  1523— Missions  of  Florida,  Texas,  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  and 
California. 


I  HE  Church  in  Florida  is  the 
most  ancient  ecclesiastical 
organization  in  the  United 
States.  The  patent  under 
which  a  companion  of  Co 
lumbus,  John  Ponce  de 
Leon,  discovered  Florida, 
bore  date  February  23, 
1512.  This  bold  and  ro 
mantic  hero  landed  in 

Florida  on  the  ad  of  April,  1513,  and  bestowed  on 
the  country  its  beautiful  name.  He  was  in  search 
of  a  great  continental  island,  Bimini,  but  he 
neither  found  this  nor  the  Ophir  from  which  Solo 
mon  obtained  the  gold  for  the  temple  of  Jerusalem. 
He  took  possession  of  the  country  in  the  name  of 
the  Spanish  King  and  continued  his  discoveries 
southward  as  far  as  the  Tortugas.  Misled  by 
the  crude  notions  of  his  day  in  regard  to  human 

(xxxiv) 


rights,  he  entered  into  the  pernicious  system  of 
the  Spaniards. in  sending  the  natives  of  Hispan- 
iola  into  slavery,  and  he  actually  sent  five  ship 
loads  of  Indians  to  Spain  to  be  used  there  as 
slaves.  The  beneficent  and  just  Isabella  was 
shocked,  and  promptly  prevented  the  sacrifice. 
She  and  Bishop  Las  Casas  were  true  exponents 
of  the  Catholic  view  of  human  freedom. 

Under  a  second  patent  John  Ponce  de  Leon 
again  landed  in  Florida  in  1521,  with  colonists 
and  Dominican  priests.  His  attempt  at  founding 
a  colony  was  repelled  by  the  warlike  natives  and 
it  was  abandoned ;  the  chief  received  a  severe 
wound  which  nearly  proved  fatal.  In  the  same 
year  another  Spanish  captain,  Lucas  Vasques  de 
Ayllon  landed  on  the  coast  of  Florida  more  to 
the  north,  and  making  a  favorable  report  of  this 
adventure  and  of  the  country  to  the  Spanish  sov 
ereign,  received  a  patent  dated  June  12,  1523. 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


XXXV 


This  and  all  the  other  Spanish  patents  of  that 
day  made  the  conversion  of  the  natives  to  Chris 
tianity  a  leading  object  of  the  expeditions.  Ayl- 
lon,  finding  the  country  when  he  landed,  which 
was  north  of  the  St.  John's  River,  unsuited  for 
a  settlement,  abandoned  it  and  sailed  northward, 
reached  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  sailed  inland  on  a 
river  and  commenced  a  colony  at  a  place  called 
Guandape,  which  he  changed  to  St.  Michael.  A 
settlement  was  commenced  in  the  homes  and  a 
chapel,  and  there  the  Dominican  Fathers  cele 
brated  Mass.  Disease,  insubordination  of  the 
Spaniards  and  Indian  hostility  destroyed  the  in 
fant  colony.  Ayllon  fell  a  victim  to  sickness  and 
the  expedition,  with  loss  and  broken  numbers, 


Discovery  of  the  Mississippi,  called  by  the  Spaniards  the  River  of 
the  Holy  Ghost 

sailed  for  San  Domingo.  The  scene  of  this 
abortive  attempt  is  now  recognized  by  historical 
critics  as  near  the  site  of  Jamestown,  the  early 
capital  of  Virginia. 

Francis  de  Garay,  governor  of  Jamaica,  under 


took  the  next  expedition  from  that  island  on  the 
south  coast  of  our  country,  and  in  one  of  these 
the  Mississippi,  which  the  Spaniards  called  the 
River  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  was  discovered.  And 
next  an  expedition  under  Pamfilo  de  Narvaez,  in 
an  attempt  on  more  southern  explorations  and 
conquests,  was  driven,  in  1527,  on  the  Floridian 
coast  near  the  Bay  of  Apalache,  but  after  many 
sufferings,  hardships,  losses,  and  wandering  over 
a  period  of  four  years,  only  four  men  of  the  ex 
pedition  reached  Sinaloa.  Among  those  who 
perished  were  all  the  Franciscan  missionaries 
accompanying  the  expedition,  including  the  cele 
brated  Father  Juan  Xuarez.  Cabeza  de  Vaca  was 
among  the  few  who  escaped,  and  his  glowing  ac 
counts  of  the  country  fired  the  ambition  of  Her- 
nando  de  Soto  to  undertake  his  brilliant  but 
equally  unfortunate  expedition  to  Florida. 

This  last  chieftain  had  acquired  fame  in  Cen 
tral  America  and  Peru,  as  a  bold  and  reckless 
adventurer,  but  his  reputation,  even  in  a  cruel 
epoch  and  with  a  cruel  people,  was  tainted  with 
deeds  of  extraordinary  cruelty  towards  the  In 
dians.  This  did  not  prevent  his  proposed  expe 
dition  from  becoming  a  popular  rage  in  Spain, 
where  high  and  low  sacrificed  everything  they 
had  to  join  the  brilliant  undertaking.  Ample 
royal  patents  were  obtained,  many  noblemen  of 
rank  decked  in  all  the  splendor  and  trappings  of 
their  order,  and  twelve  priests,  four  of  whom  were 
religious,  formed  the  leading  persons  of  this  gay 
but  wild  exploit,  which  sailed  from  Spain  for  the 
coast  of  Florida  on  April  6,  1538.  Nearly  one 
thousand  persons  in  all  were  in  the  expedition. 
Landing  in  Florida  and  starting  forth  in  gay  at 
tire,  misfortunes  soon  awaited  them.  Instead  of 
conquering  rich  empires,  the  Spaniards  were  de 
feated  in  1540,  in  the  disastrous  battle  of  Manila, 
where  the  commissary  and  religious  outfit  per 
ished  in  the  flames.  Many  leaders,  priests,  and 
men  perished  in  the  arduous  inarch  from  Tampa 
Bay  to  Pensacola,  the  Savannah,  the  Cherokee 
country,  and  Mobile ;  turning  northwestwardly 
de  Soto  discovered  the  Mississippi,  the  only  event 
that  has  given  lustre  to  his  name,  penetrated  the 
valley  of  the  Mississippi,  and  marched  on  to  his 
death,  which  occurred  on  May  21,  1542.  The 
remnant  of  this  proud  but  vain  array  reached 
their  countrymen  in  Mexico.  Of  the  twelve 
priests  who  joined  it  only  four  survived.  They 


XXXVI 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


had  planted  the  cross  in  the  land,  a  silent  prayer 
for  the  future. 

Don  Antonio  de  Mendoza,  in  1539,  was  the 
next  Spanish  captain  to  undertake  the  work  of 
Christianizing  and  conquering  the  land,  and  he 


De  Soto's  defeat  at  the  Battle  of  Manilla. 

appointed  Vasquez  de  Coronado  governor.  This 
expedition  was  in  its  object  more  religious  than 
military.  The  Franciscan  Fathers,  under  the 
celebrated  Father  Mark,  of  Nice,  after  travelling 
along  the  coast,  receiving  the  homage  of  the 
natives,  penetrated  the  interior,  marching  to 
wards  Cibola,  the  great  province  of  a  great  em 
pire,  with  seven  great  cities  under  a  powerful  em 
peror.  Some  of  the  advanced  guard  of  the 
expedition  are  said  to  have  reached  Cibola,  the 
principal  city,  but  were  slaughtered  by  the 
natives  in  retaliation.  Father  Mark  pushed  on 
in  the  midst  of  the  disastrous  news.  He  thought 
and  so  reported  that  he  came  within  sight  of  the 
town,  he  planted  a  cross  and  then  returned  to  his 
countrymen,  and  made  a  report  which  was  trans 


mitted  to  the  Spanish  king.  This  expedition 
of  Father  Mark  was  at  least  historically  im 
portant,  for  thus  the  first  knowledge  of  the  ex 
istence  of  California  was  obtained  by  Europeans, 
and  the  monks,  who  penetrated  northward  as  far 
as  New  Mexico  and  Arizona,  were  the  first 
of  Europeans  to  explore  the  interior  of  our  con 
tinent.  It  led  to  another  expedition  in  the  same 
direction  by  the  orders  of  Mendoza,  who  sent  an 
army  of  conquest  under  Coronado,  which  started 
northward  from  Culiacan,  on  April  22,  1640, 
accompanied  by  Fathers  Mark,  John  de  Padilla, 
Daniel  and  Louis,  and  two  lay  brethren  named 
Luis  de  Escalona  and  John  of  the  Cross.  They 
reached  Cibola  after  a  long  march  through 
Arizona,  and  the  town,  fabled  capital  of  the  rich 
empire,  turned  out  to  be  a  Pueblo  village,  whose 
houses,  few  in  number,  were  large,  containing 
three  or  four  stories,  built  of  brick  and  manned 
with  two  hundred  warriors.  The  Indian  warriors 
defended  their  castles,  as  they  had  a  right  to  do, 
but  the  town  was  taken  by  storm.  One  of  the 
missionaries,  Father  Daniel,  was  wounded.  The 
Spaniards,  who  were  soon  joined  by  the  re 
mainder  of  the  army,  went  from  village  to 
village,  reducing  them  by  force  of  arms.  A  part 
of  the  army  marched  northeastwardly  through 
great  plains  swarming  with  buffaloes,  visited  the 
great  canon  of  the  Colorado,  and  must  have 
penetrated  the  country  near  the  Missouri  river. 
Finally  all  the  parties  had  returned  to  New 
Mexico,  where  another  winter  was  spent,  and  the 
country  was  abandoned.  No  gold  was  found,  no 
vast  empires  were  conquered,  110  Christian  com 
monwealth  founded,  no  Church  established. 
Coronado  reproached  Father  Mark  for  the  ac 
counts  he  had  sent  from  his  first  expedition,  but 
these  were  sent  in  good  faith  as  they  were  re 
ceived  from  the  Indians.  The  missionaries 
offered  the  Holy  Mass  in  that  wild  region  on 
temporary  altars  in  the  various,  places  where 
they  camped  or  tarried.  Thus,  after  two  years 
of  Spanish  exploration,  New  Mexico  was  left 
again  to  the  Pueblos,  but  a  small  missionary 
band,  consisting  of  Father  Padilla  and  Brother 
Louis  Escalona,  more  zealous  for  souls,  remained 
with  Indian  guides  and  a  few  others  of  the  ex 
pedition,  at  the  first,  though  temporary  chapel 
of  New  Mexico,  at  Figriex,  and  thence  proceeded 
to  found  a  mission  among  the  friendly  people  of 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


XXXV11 


Quivira.  Father  Padilla  advanced  to  Quivira, 
and  thence,  while  attempting  to  visit  a  neighbor 
ing  village,  was  attacked  by  hostile  Indians  on 
the  way.  He  succeeded  in  giving  a  warning  to  his 
companions  which  secured  their  escape,  while  he, 
pierced  with  a  shower  of  arrows,  fell  a  glorious 
martyr  to  a  brave  effort  to  extend  the  realm  of 
Christianity. 

But  the  Christian  heroes  did  not  falter ;  next 
came  the  celebrated  Dominican,  Father  Louis 
Cancer,  who,  amid  appalling  difficulties,  accepted 
the  mission  directly  from  the  Emperor  Charles 
V.,  and  in  1549,  with  his  companions,  Fathers 
Gregory  de  Beleta,  Diego  de  Tolosa,  John  Garcia 
and  a  few  others,  landed  at  Tampa  Bay ;  no 
soldiers  were  present  except  the  soldiers  of  the 
cross,  and  the  cross  was  their  only  weapon. 
His  companions  opposed  his  proceeding  to  the 
towns,  because  of  rumored  hostilities  and 
murders  of  Spaniards ;  Father  Cancer  insisted 
on  executing  his  holy  mission ;  the  men  re 
fused  to  row  him  ashore;  he  .resolutely  jumped 
into  the  water  and  waded  to  the  land,  and  advanced 
up  the  hill  to  offer  the  faith  to  the  natives,  and 
those  he  left  in  the  ships  saw  him  surrounded 
by  the  Indians  and  slaughtered  on  the  spot. 
Thus  another  glorious  martyr  graced  the  Chris 
tian  annals  of  Florida. 

In  another  attempt  at  occupation,  in  1553,  by 
the  way  of  Texas,  under  Don  Louis  de  Velasco, 
nearly  all  perished,  including  the  Dominican 
missionaries.  In  1553  a  more  systematic  attempt 
was  made  to  found  a  colony  on  the  northern 
shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Don  Tristan  de 
Luna  y  Arellano,  son  of  the  governor  of  Yucatan, 
sailed  from  Vera  Cruz,  entered  Pensacola  Bay, 
and  small  expeditions,  headed  by  Dominican 
missionaries,  made  efforts  to  penetrate  the  coun 
try.  Don  Tristan  proved  an  inefficient  leader, 
and  after  great  hardships,  exposure,  losses, 
changes  of  plans  and  discords,  the  expedition 
proved  fruitless.  But  the  missionaries  were 
active,  and  the  land  was  sanctified  by  the  frequent 
celebration  of  the  Holy  Sacrifice  and  the  prayers 
of  the  sons  of  St.  Dominic  for  the  conversion  of 
the  Indians,  its  leading  purpose. 

The  next  expedition  was  that  of  Menendez, 
who  had  achieved  a  name,  and  now  sought  to  re 
cover  his  only  son,  who  had  been  left  in  Florida 
from  one  of  the  previous  expeditions.  Philip  II. 


made  the  expedition  the  affair  of  the  Spanish 
nation,  and  Meuendez  sailed  from  Spain  on  June 
29>  I565,  with  a  splendid  outfit  of  ships,  colonists, 
Franciscans  and  seculars,  and  every  appliance  of 
success.  France,  then  a  competitor  with  Spain 
in  American  adventure  and  conquest,  hearing  of 
Menendez'  preparation,  sent  out  a  rival  expedi 
tion  under  Ribault.  The  fleet  of  Menendez  was 
scattered  by  storms,  while  Ribault  landed,  took 
possession,  and  built  a  fort.  Menendez  hearing 
of  open  hostilities  by  Ribault  in  the  capture  of  a 
Spanish  vessel  at  sea,  gathered  such  force  and 
ships  as  he  could,  and  hastened  to  Florida,  called 
the  bay  he  entered  St.  Augustine,  proceeded  till 
he  discovered  the  location  of  the  French  and  their 
fort,  Caroline,  gave  chase  ineffectually  to  the 
French  fleet,  and  then  proceeding  to  land  in  a 
favored  spot,  with  great  and  solemn  pomp,  on 
September  8,  1565,  he  founded  the  city  of  St. 
Augustine.  The  cross  was  planted,  Te  Deum 
was  chanted,  and  a  fort  erected.  The  French 
fleet  still  hovered  around  the  entrance  to  the  bay, 
but  a  storm  soon  drove  their  ships  southward  and 
beyond  reach  or  succor  from  their  fort ;  and  Me 
nendez,  availing  himself  of  the  opportunity;  pro 
ceeded  at  once,  and  against  all  remonstrance,  to 
attack  Fort  Caroline,  which  he  captured,  putting  all 
to  death,  saving  only  the  women  and  boys  under 
fifteen  years  of  age.  The  fort  was  occupied  by 
Spanish  soldiers,  and  the  Spanish  success  was 
celebrated  with  great  rejoicing  and  with  religious 
services.  Meneudez  was  now  master  of  Florida, 
and  with  characteristic  energy  designed  to  oc 
cupy  Port  Royal,  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  Tampa 
Bay.  An  expedition  was  sent  to  the  Chesa 
peake,  but  the  commander  of  it  disloyally  made 
his  way  back  to  Spain.  The  religious  features 
and  efforts  of  Menendez'  expedition  were  most 
prominent,  and  he  seemed  zealous  for  the  faith 
and  the  conversion  of  the  natives  ;  while  in  con 
trast  with  these  good  motives,  we  shudder  at  his 
cruel  methods  of  war  and  the  slaughter  of  his 
French  rivals  and  enemies.  At  the  request  of 
Philip  II.  St.  Francis  Borgia,  General  of  the 
Jesuits,  sent  Fathers  Peter  Martinez  and  John 
Rogel  and  Brother  Francis  de  Villareal  to  found 
a  mission  in  Florida.  The  vessel  carrying  the 
Fathers  became  separated  from  the  fleet,  and 
Father  Martinez  generously  offered  to  accompany 
a  boat's  crew  ashore  for  information ;  in  the 


XXXV111 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH-INTRODUCTORY. 


meantime  the  ship  was  carried  out  to  sea  by  a 
storm,  and  while  the  Father  and  his  companions 
were  struggling  to  reach  a  Spanish  port,  the 
Jesuit  was  seized  by  the  hostile  Indians  and  put 
to  death.  Thus  another  was  added  to  the  glo 
rious  list  of  martyrs  in  Florida.  A  more  stable 
mission  was  founded  in  Florida  by  the  Jesuits, 
which  was  reinforced  by  ten  additional  Fathers 
brought  out  by  Menendez  in  1568;  an  Indian- 
school  was  opened,  and  missionaries  went  out  to 
various  and  distant  stations,  one  under  Father 
Sedeno  reaching  as  far  as  Guale,  now  Amelia 
Island,  in  Georgia,  and  another  under  Father 
Rogel  advancing  as  far  as  the  port  of  Santa 
Helena,  or  Port  Royal  harbor,  in  South  Carolina ; 
and  at  these  places  missions  were  established. 
While  several  of  the  natives  were  converted,  the 
harvest  was  not  abundant,  and  though  the  art  of 
agriculture  and  other  industries  were  taught  the 
Indians,  and  Indian  boys  were  carried  for  educa 
tion  to  the  Seminary  at  Havana,  and  other  great 
efforts  made,  the  fickleness  of  the  Indian  charac 
ter  prevented  permanent  success.  Meneudez  was 
congratulated  warmly  by  Pope  St.  Pius  V.,  and 
St.  Francis  Borgia,  General  of  the  Jesuits,  took 
an  apostolic  interest  in  these  noble  efforts. 

Still  hoping  to  plant  Spanish  colonies  and 
Catholic  missions  in  the  Chesapeake,  Menendez, 
in  1570,  procured  another  colony  of  Jesuits  for 
that  brave  enterprise.  Fathers  Segura  and  de 
Quiras  and  six  lay  brothers  sailed  from  Santa 
Helena  on  August  5,  1570,  ascended  the  Potomac, 
and  on  September  10  reached  the  new  mission 
near  the  Rappahannock  River  in  Virginia,  and 
were  well  received  by  the  natives.  The  Spanish 
vessels  which  brought  them  to  that  wilderness 
departed,  and  the  brave  apostles  had  no  resources 
but  spiritual  aids  and  the  most  exhausting  and 
dangerous  labors.  Left  by  the  Spaniards  in  a 
vast  wilderness,  and  deserted  by  Velasco,  the 
converted  Indian  brother  of  a  neighboring  chief, 
who  had  been  carried  to  Spain  and  had  now 
returned  with  the  Fathers  as  their  guide,  inter 
preter,  and  friend,  and  their  provisions  having 
failed,  the  situation  of  the  missionaries  became  so 
desperate  that  they  had  to  subsist  on  roots  and 
herbs.  The  treacherous  Velasco,  when  visited  by 
Father  Quiras  and  Brothers  Solis  and  Mendez, 
and  urged  to  return  to  the  mission,  assembled 
some  warriors  of  the  tribe  and  murdered  the 


Father  and  his  companions ;  then  advancing  or. 
the  mission  and  the  little  chapel,  they  seized  the 
axes  and  implements  of  the  Fathers,  and  with 
these  weapons  slaughtered  the  entire  colony,  an 
Indian  boy  alone  escaping  by  concealment.  Thus 
was  the  soil  of  Virginia  blessed  with  the  blood 
of  Catholic  martyrs  in  the  sixteenth  century.  In 
the  following  spring  Menendez  returned  to  the 
Rappahannock  to  avenge  the  murder  of  the  mis 
sionaries,  for  such  was  the  method  of  the  times, 
and  eight  Indians  were  executed,  after  being 
baptized  and  prepared  for  death  by  Father  Rogel, 
but  the  treacherous  Velasco  escaped.  St.  Fran 
cis  Borgia,  discarding  all  hope  of  evangelizing 
those  regions,  recalled  his  Fathers,  and  placed 
them  on  the  missions  in  Mexico.  The  Florida 
settlement  declined,  not  a  priest  was  at  St. 
Augustine,  and  even  the  Spaniards  were  in 
danger  of  losing  their  faith.  Finally  the  Span 
ish  government  came  to  the  relief  of  Florida,  and 
in  1586  St.  Augustine  possessed  public  buildings, 
church,  and  private  residences,  and  magazine, 
when  the  piratical  Captain  Drake  came  upon  it 
from  the  sea  and  destroyed  the  place  with  fire. 

The  Jesuits  and  Dominicans  having  sacrificed 
so  much  in  fruitless  efforts  to  establish  the  faith 
in  Florida,  the  Franciscans  bravely  took  up  the 
perilous  task  in  1577,  and  commenced  missions 
among  the  Indians  in  Nombre  de  Dios  and  San 
Sebastian,  and  in  1594  a  numerous  band  of  the 
Sons  of  St.  Francis  were  in  Florida,  and  doing 
noble  work  at  St.  Augustine  and  many  other 
places.  Great  success  attended  their  efforts,  and 
a  permanent  Christian  community  seemed  des 
tined  to  prove  the  Indians  capable  of  civilization. 
Among  the  converts  was  the  son  of  the  chief  of 
Guale  Island,  where  Father  Corpa  was  stationed 
at  the  village  of  Tolamato.  Unwilling  to  conform 
his  conduct,  after  a  short  trial,  to  Christian  pre 
cepts,  the  young  warrior  thought  that  he  could 
best  throw  off  the  restraints  of  religion  by  getting 
rid  of  the  missionary,  and,  associating  with  him 
in  his  fell  purpose  some  of  his  companions,  they 
proceeded  to  the  village  by  night  and  quietly 
awaited  the  appearing  of  the  Father  in  the  morn 
ing.  When  Father  Corpa  opened  his  door  at 
dawn  to  proceed  to  chapel  to  say  Mass  he  was  in 
stantly  struck  down  with  the  tomahawk,  his 
head  was  cut  off  and  suspended  on  a  pole.  Ex 
cited  with  blood,  they  next  proceeded  to  the 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH-INTRODUCTORY. 


XXXIX 


mission  and  chapel  of  Father  Rodriguez,  at  Topo- 
qui ;  the  good  priest  obtained  a  half  hour's 
respite  for  saying  Mass,  and,  after  offering  up  and 
receiving  the  divine  victim  of  the  sacrifice,  he 
knelt  before  his  little  rustic  altar  and  received 
the  death-blow  as  only  Christian  martyrs  can. 
Then  proceeding  to  Asopo,  they  slaughtered 
Father  Auiion  and  Brother  Badajoz,  and  then 
lying  in  ambush  on  the  banks  of  the  river  till 
they  saw  Father  Valascola  approaching  in  his 
canoe  on  his  journey 
to  St.  Augustine,  they 
treacherously  enticed 
him  to  land,  where 
upon  they  murdered 
him  on  the  spot.  Fa 
ther  Davila,  at  Asopo, 
while  endeavoring  to 
escape  the  pursuers 
at  night,  was  seen  in 
the  moonlight,  and 
fell  to  the  ground 
pierced  with  arrows ; 
he  was  stripped  and 
maltreated,  his  life 
being  saved  by  the 
entreaties  of  an  aged 
Indian,  and  was  sent 
as  a  slave  into  a 
neighboring  town. 
The  murderous  sav 
ages  next  attacked  the  mission  of  St.  Peter's,  but 
the  chief  of  the  island,  encouraged  by  the  pres 
ence  of  a  Spanish  ship  in  the  harbor,  advanced 
with  his  canoes  to  the  fight  and  routed  the  in 
vaders.  But  the  missions  were  broken  up,  the 
missionaries  martyred,  and  Father  Davila  was 
finally  sent  to  St.  Augustine  in  exchange  for  a 
young  Indian  held  by  the  Spaniards.  He  was 
the  only  survivor  of  the  noble  band  of  Fran 
ciscan  missionaries  of  Guale. 

St.  Augustine  waxed  strong  in  population, 
church,  hospital,  private  residences,  missionaries 
and  in  military,  for  the  fort  was  a  prominent  object 
and  a  tower  of  strength.  Among  the  illustrious 
missionaries  of  Florida  should  be  mentioned 
Father  Francis  Pareja,  at  San  Juan,  guardian  of 
the  Franciscan  convent  at  St.  Augustine,  in  1612, 
the  author  of  several  works  of  Christian  instruc 
tion  in  the  Indian  language ;  Father  Balthazar 


The  Slain  Missionary. 


Lopez,  at  San  Pedro,  and  Father  Manuel  Godino, 
parish  priest  in  1602  at  St.  Augustine.  The 
Franciscans  reopened  the  Guale  Mission  in  1606, 
and  the  missions  had  become  so  numerous  and 
important  that  they,  together  with  the  Francis 
can  missions  at  Havana  and  Bayamo,  were  in 
'1609  erected  into  custodia  of  the  order,  and 
Florida,  in  1606,  received  a  visitation  from  Don 
Frai  Juan  Cabezas  de  Altamirano,  Bishop  of 
Santiago  de  Cuba,  of  whose  diocese  Florida  was 
a  part,  and  then  for  the  first  time  the  sacrament 
of  confirmation  was  administered  in  that  region. 
In  1609  the  powerful  chief  of  Timucua,  with  his 
son  and  members  of  his  rude  court,  came  to  re 
ceive  instruction,  and  were  accepted  into  the  fold, 
and  great  rejoicings  were  made  over  so  happy  an 
event.  The  Franciscan  convent  at  St.  Augus 
tine,  which  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1599,  was  re 
built,  and  the  Spanish  king  aided  in  this  and 
other  needs  of  the  Florida  Church.  In  1634  the 
Franciscans  on  the  Florida  mission  were  thirty- 
five  devoted  men  of  the  cross,  and  though  their 
numbers  were  frequently  depleted  by  disease  and 
hardships,  the  apostolic  band  was  kept  up.  The 
missionaries  made  long  and  arduous  journeys  on 
foot  to  reach  or  accompany  their  roving  flocks,  or 
for  communication  with  head-quarters,  or  for  the 
purpose  of  going  to  confession,  for  the  missions 
were  far  apart.  Many  sank  under  the  hardships 
of  so  arduous  a  mission.  With  such  an  increase 
of  labors  there  were  still  tribes  suing  for  pastors, 
and  numerous  and  important  conversions  gave 
labor  and  consolation  to  the  Fathers.  In  St. 
Augustine  alone,  in  1646,  there  were  fifty  Fran 
ciscan  religious,  besides  the  parish  priest,  the 
sacristan  and  the  chaplain  of  the  fort.  So  well 
developed  was  the  Church  in  Florida  that,  in  1655, 
the  Governor  of  Florida  applied  to  the  King  of 
Spain  for  his  influence  with  the  Holy  See  to  ob 
tain  a  bishop  for  that  country,  but  upon  consulta 
tion  with  the  authorities  at  Cuba  and  San  Do 
mingo  the  matter  was  dropped. 

The  Florida  missions  had  now  grown  to  be 
numerous  and  flourishing,  thirty-four  in  number, 
and  well  supplied  with  missionaries  from  the 
Franciscan  head-quarters  and  the  Convent  of 
Our  Lady  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  at  St. 
Augustine.  But  soon  the  mission  among  the 
Apalaches  was  broken  up  by  the  imprudence  and 
despotism  of  the  Governor  of  Florida,  who  or- 


xl 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


dered  the  chiefs  of  that  nation  to  make,  the  jour 
ney  to  St.  Augustine  and  each  bring  a  load  of 
corn.  On  their  refusal  to  comply  with  so  unjust 
an  order,  imposed  upon  a  free  and  independent 
people  recently  converted  to  Christianity,  the 
governor  advanced  upon  them  with  force,  and 
after  several  battles,  in  which  the  Indians  acted 
bravely,  they  were  subdued;  but  the  mission 
was  destroyed.  The  Fathers,  who  had  by  long 
study  acquired  the  Apalache  language,  re-em 
barked  for  Havana  and  all  perished  at  sea.  Be 
fore  this  the  Catholic  Indian  population  of  Florida 
was  26,000.  The  Apalaches  abandoned  the  faith 
by  reason  of  the  scandal  given  by  the  injustice 
of  the  Catholic  governor.  In  August,  1674, 
Don  Gabriel  Diaz  Vara  Calderon,  Bishop  of 
Santiago  de  Cuba,  made  a  visitation  of  the 
Florida  churches,  which  was  fruitful  of  good  re 
sults.  He  celebrated  with  solemn  Mass  the  cen 
tennial  of  the  foundation  of  Florida  and  her 
Church,  administered  holy  orders  for  the  first 
time  within  the  present  boundaries  of  our  country 
by  conferring  minor  orders  on  seven  candidates, 
and  gave  generous  alms  to  the  suffering  and  poor 
of  St.  Augustine.  The  good  bishop  visited 
various  missions,  reformed  abuses  and  introduced 
new  discipline.  All  who  had  Indians  in  their 
service  were  required  to  send  them  for  examina 
tion  in  Christian  doctrine,  the  Franciscans  were 
required  to  open  catechism  classes,  and  masters 
were  forbidden  to  exact  work  from  Indians  on 
Sundays  and  holy  days.  He  continued  his  visi 
tations  into  the  fall,  went  northward  as  far  as 
Santa  Fe  and  visited  the  Apalaches  of  Taragica. 
He  opened  new  missions,  provided  generously  for 
their  support,  expended  eleven  thousand  dollars 
in  promoting  the  interests  of  religion,  regardless 
of  danger  and  fatigue  visited  the  extended  and 
scattered  missions  along  the  Atlantic  coast, 
which  extended  as  far  northward  as  South  Caro 
lina,  confirmed  13,152  persons  and  spent  eight 
months  in  this  remarkable  and  opportune  visita 
tion.  The  auspicious  labors  of  this  zealous 
bishop  were  also  greatly  extended  and  advanced 
by  the  decrees  of  the  Synod  which  assembled  at 
Havana  in  1676,  and  enacted  a  beneficial  con 
stitution  for  the  vast  Diocese  ;  its  laws  remained 
in  force  in  Florida  for  over  a  century.  Thirty- 
seven  holy  days  of  obligation  were  established, 
and  numerous  fasting  days  prescribed,  including 


Friday  and  Saturday  in  every  week;  but  the 
converted  Indians  had  fewer  holy  days  of  obliga 
tion  and  fewer  days  of  fasting,  and  numerous 
clauses  were  reformed  and  wholesome  regulations 
made  for  the  protection  of  the  Indians.  Spanish 
efforts  near  Chesapeake  Bay  having  been  aban 
doned,  the  English  soon  went  in  and  founded 
colonies  in  Virginia,  and  soon  the  Spanish  col 
onies  at  the  south  and  the  English  colonies  at 
the  north  came  in  conflict  through  the  Indians 
of  the  Florida  mission  with  Georgia  and  Caro 
lina,  the  governor  having  exasperated  them  by 
unwise  or  oppressive  methods.  Many  of  them 
abandoned  their  missions  and  went  over  to  the 
English  territories.  The  next  year  a  large  force 
of  them  returned  and  plundered  their  former 
homes,  burned  the  town  of  Timucua  and  carried 
the  natives  northward  into  slavery.  On  the  other 
hand,  official  Spanish  severity  left  scarcely  a 
home  for  the  Indians  of  the  Apalache  country, 
who  fled  even  to  the  woods  to  escape  the  arm  of 
oppression.  Afterwards  better  men  and  better 
feeling  followed;  but  in  1688  ecclesiastical  dis 
sension  prevailed,  the  Franciscans  refusing  to  re 
ceive  a  visitor  of  the  Diocese  who  had  been  sent 
by  the  Bishop  of  Havana  to  investigate  the  state 
of  religion  there.  The  visitor's  report  and  a  book 
in  reply,  published  by  the  Franciscans,  show  how 
good  men  may  lose  sight  of  the  main  object  of 
their  lives. 

In  1693  Pensacola  was  founded,  and  in  1696  a 
settlement  actually  made ;  a  band  of  Franciscan 
missionaries  were  put  into  the  field,  and  while  at 
first  they  promised  success,  soon  the  hostile  In 
dians  of  five  towns  revolted  against  the  Spaniards, 
burned  the  churches,  murdered  one  of  the  mis 
sionaries,  and  some  native  Christians,  and  broke 
up  the  missions ;  the  survivors  returned  to  St. 
Augustine ;  but  soon  again  five  missionaries  en 
tered  the  field,  and  cared  for  the  spiritual  needs 
of  the  converted  Indians. 

Father  Felician  Lopez  and  five  other  Francis 
cans,  in  1697,  nndertook  the  conversion  of  the 
Carlos  Indians,  and  at  Cayucos  a  chapel  and 
residence  were  erected,  and  the  old  chief  requested 
baptism.  The  mission,  however,  was  not  a  suc 
cess  ;  the  Indians  insisted  on  the  Fathers  giving 
food  for  their  idolatrous  gods,  but  the  Fathers  re 
fused  and  endeavored  to  dissuade  them  from  such 
idolatrous  practices ;  the  Indians  were  insulted : 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


xli 


the  Fathers  were  seized,  stripped  of  their  clothes 
and  hurried  from  place  to  place  down  the  coast, 
and  finally  left  naked ;  they. were  rescued  by  the 
Spanish  vessel  that  brought  them,  and  carried 
back  to  Havana. 

Florida  found  a  dangerous   neighbor  in  the 
English  colony  in  Carolina.     From  time  to  time 
Indian  armies  were  organized  in   the   English 
colony  and  sent  southward  to  murder,  pillage, 
and   burn.     Indians   and   missionaries  perished 
in  such  cruel  raids.     Governor  Moore,  of  South 
Carolina,  availing  himself  of  the  pretext  of  war  in 
Europe,  sent  frequent  hostile  expeditions  of  this 
character  into  the  Spanish  territories  in  Georgia 
and  Florida,  and  finally  induced   the    English 
colony  to  fit  out  an  expedition  by  sea,  which  he 
led  victoriously  to  St:  Augustine ;  here  he  laid 
siege  to  the  fort,  took  many  prisoners,  burned 
the  city  and  towns,  convents  and  churches,  and 
the  fine  library  of  the  Franciscans  was  committed 
to  the  flames.     Thus  England  was  struggling  in 
America  for  dominion  against  Spain  in  the  South, 
while  she  was  resisting  the  colonial  and  territo 
rial  advancement  of  France  in  the  North.     The 
energetic  and  aggressive  Governor   Moore  pre 
pared   other   expeditions    against   his    southern 
neighbors,  and   the   country  of  the   Apalaches 
and  its  Catholic  missions  were  attacked  in  Jan 
uary,  1704,  by  an  army  of  English  and  Indians, 
towns  were  burned  and  Catholic  shrines  destroyed, 
prisoners  were  murdered.     The  good  missionaries 
stood  by  their  flocks  and  Fathers  John  de  Parga, 
Angel    Miranda,    Manuel   de   Mendoza,  Marcos 
Delgado  were  slain ;  Father  Parga  having  been 
burned  at  the  stake,  his  head  was  cut  off  and 
other  indignities  inflicted.     Fathers  Miranda  and 
Mexia,  the  brave  Spanish  defender  of  the  fort, 
and  many  Indians  were  burned,  showing  in  the 
midst  of  the  flames  the  spirit  of  the  martyr  by 
prayer.     The  English  governor  carried  off  sev 
eral  hundred  Indian  prisoners  to  sell  as  slaves. 
Such  was  the  battle  of  Ayubale,  a  blot  at  once  on 
our  civilization  and  the  claims  of  Christianity 
made  by  the  assailants.     While  the  Spanish  king 
regarded  such  outrages  as  bigoted  assaults  upon 
the  true  religion  and  its  faithful  followers,  they 
cannot  be  attributed  to  any  instructions  received 
from  the  home  government  by  local  governors  or 
commanders,  but  rather  to  the  personal  and  offi 
cious  bigotry  of  the  latter.     The  result  was  the 


destruction  of  all  the  Apalache  missions,  em 
bracing  thirteen  towns,  each  with  a  flourishing 
mission  and  chapel ;  the  missionaries  had  to  re 
turn  to  St.  Augustine,  since  their  Indian  flocks 
had  fled  towards  the  French  settlements  westward 
for  protection,  and  abandoned  their  country.  But 
the  attacks  from  English  colonies  to  the  north 
did  not  cease,  for  Colonel  Palmer  with  a  small 
army  from  Georgia,  in  1627,  made  an  invasion 
of  Florida  and  successfully  raided  the  country  as 
far  south  as  St.  Augustine,  and  here  the  little 
chapel  of  Our  Lady  of  Milk,  the  first  of  Amer 
ican  shrines,  where  the  first  Mass  was  said  on 
September  8,  1565,  was  plundered  of  sacred  ves 
sels,  pious  images,  and  everything  valuable,  and 
left  a  wreck.  Such  were  the  ravages  of  war,  that 
of  the  populous  Christian  Indian  towns  and  coun 
try,  only  three  hundred  inhabitants  survived,  and 
these  had  to  seek  shelter  under  the  protection  of 
St.  Augustine.  Other  new  missions  were  next 
attempted  by  the  zealous  Fathers  in  the  Yamassee 
and  Yguasa  countries  and  in  other  parts  of  Flor 
ida,  which  yielded  good  fruit,  and  they  even  at 
tempted  the  restoration  of  the  Apalache  mission, 
which  Governor  Moore,  of  South  Carolina,  had 
destroyed. 

The  subject  of  appointing  a  Bishop  for  Florida 
was  again  mooted,  for  in  January,  1704,  the  Ec 
clesiastic  Antonio  Ponce  de  Leon  made  a  visita 
tion  of  Florida  by  direction  of  his  superiors,  and 
his  report  demonstrated  the  necessity  for  a  resi 
dent  Bishop.  Accordingly,  Don  Dionisio  Rezino 
was  appointed  co-adjutor  to  the  Bishop  of  San 
tiago  de  Cuba,  and  consecrated  at  Merida,  in  Yu 
catan,  under  the  title  of  Bishop  of  Adramitum. 
The  new  Bishop  immediately  went  to  Florida, 
and,  on  June  20,  1707,  administered  confirmation 
to  the  Church  of  St.  Augustine  and  probably 
others.  But  his  stay  must  have  been  short.  In 
1720  another  visitation  of  Florida  was  made  by 
direction  of  the  Bishop  of  Cuba  by  the  Eccle 
siastic  John  Stephen  Romero  y  Montanez,  whose 
report  showed  a  looseness  in  keeping  registers 
and  other  such  requirements,  but  the  appointment 
of.  another  Bishop  for  Florida  did  not  take  place 
until  1735,  when  Father  Francis,  of  St.  Bona- 
venture,  Martinez  de  Tejada  Diez  de  Velasco, 
a  Recollect  Franciscan  and  native  of  Seville,  re 
ceived  the  appointment  as  co-adjutor  to  Cuba, 
under  the  title  of  Bishop  of  Tricali.  This  prel- 


xlii 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH-INTRODUCTORY. 


ate  repaired  to  Florida  the  same  year,  when  the 
population  of  St.  Augustine  was  1509,  resided 
ten  years  at  St.  Augustine,  and  made  repeated 
visitations  of  his  vast  and  scattered  flock.  His 
confirmations  and  visitations  among  the  Span 
iards  and  Indians  were  much  needed,  and  proved 


Panorama  of  Fort  San  Marco,  St.  Augustine,  Fla. 

great  blessings  to  the  Church  of  Florida.     Yet 
it  must  be  said  that  the  dissensions  and  wars  of 
Europeans  in  America  undid  nearly  all  that  the 
religious  orders  had  accomplished,  and  even  the 
aid  received   by  the  Florida  Church  from   the 
King  of  Spain  did  not  prevent  the  missions  of 
Florida  and  even  the  very  churches  of  St.  Augus 
tine  from  being  either  broken  up  or  falling  into 
decay;   the  advent  of  Governor  Oglethorpe  to 
Georgia   completely  destroyed   the   remnant  of 
Catholic   missions   there;    only  the   bare  walls 
of  the  old  parish  church  of  St.  Augustine  had 
reached  completion.     But  in  Tejada's  time  and 
in  1740  the  very  existence  of  St.  Augustine  was 
endangered  by  an  invasion  and  siege  both  by 
land  and  water  under  Oglethorpe,  but  the  attack 
was  repelled  by  the  courage  and  energy  of  the 
Spanish  Governor,  the  garrison  and  inhabitants, 
1  the  exertions  of  the  Bishops  and  the  prayers  of 
the  entire  community.     In   1745,  when  Bishop 
Tejada  was  promoted   to   the  See  of  Yucatan, 
Florida  lost  its  best  friend.     His  place,  however, 
was  filled  by  Don  Peter  Ponce  y  Carrasco,  who, 
from  1751  to  1755,  zealously  discharged  the  Epis 
copal  office,  made  the  visitation  of  the  diocese 
-Mid  succored  the  mission.     In  1762,  on  the  fall 


of  Havana  into  the  hands  of  England,  the  Right 
Rev.  Peter  Augustine  Morell  de  Santa  Cruz  was 
carried  off  a  prisoner  to  Charleston,  South  Caro 
lina,  and  finally  carried  to  and  released  at  St. 
Augustine,  where  the  good  and  able  prelate  ex 
erted  himself  for  the  good  of  religion,  confirmed 
many  hundreds,  encouraged  the  Indian  missions 
and  renewed  the  faith  of  all.     In    1763   Spain 
ceded  Florida  to  England ;  the  Church  and  mis 
sions  were   in   a   deplorable    state ;    almost   the 
entire  Spanish  population  departed ;  Bishop  Mor- 
rell  was  carried  back  to  Havana.     Religion  lan 
guished  under  English  rule  and  the  tyranny  of 
Major  Ogilvie,  and  the  Church  property  of  St. 
Augustine  was  conveyed  in  trust  to  a  private  in- 
vidual  to  save  it  for  the  future  use  of  Catholics 
in  better  times.     These  precautions  did  not  save 
the  Bishop's  house  from  being  seized  and  used 
for   the  English   church ;    the   Franciscan  con 
vent  was  appropriated  for  military  barracks,  and 
Catholics  subjected  to  many  indignities.     Simi 
lar,  too,  was  the  fate  of  ecclesiastical  property 
at    Pensacola   and   other   places.     All   this  was 
done  in  the  face  of  the  treaty  between  England 
and  Spain,  by  which  the  former  guaranteed  to 
the  Floridians  the  freedom  and  security  of  their 
religion.     Florida  was  now  divided  into  East  and 
West  Florida,  divided  by  the  river  Apalachicola, 
and  the  Catholic  inhabitants  of  the  eastern  divis 
ion,  including  the  flock  and  Capuchin   Fathers 
John    Francis    and    Ferdinand,    at   Mobile,    re 
mained.     Mobile  was  visited  from  time  to  time 
by  Father  Ferdinand,  as  in  1770,  1773  and  in 
1777,  and  the  Catholic  whites  and  Indians  who 
remained  joyfully  received  the  sacraments  at  his 
hands.     In  1768  a  new  Catholic  element  was  in 
troduced  into  Florida  in  the  persons  of  about  four 
teen  hundred  Minorcans,  Italians  and  Greeks, 
who  were  brought   over    by   the    English    Dr. 
Andrew  Turnbull  and  his  associates.     The  set 
tlement  of  New  Smyrna  was  thus  founded,  and 
it  received  as  its  pastors  Rev.  Dr.  Peter  Camps 
and  the  Franciscan  Father  Bartholomew  Casas 
Novas,  from  Minorca ;  a  church  was  erected,  and 
Dr.  Camps  received  from  Rome  the  faculty  of 
conferring  confirmation,  though  the  country  still 
remained  under  the  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  of 
the  Bishop  of  Havana.     The  cruel  treatment  of 
the  Minorcans  by  Turnbull  drove  them  almost 
to  despair.     Father  Casas  Novas  for  his  defence 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


xliii 


of  his  flock  was  imprisoned  and  exiled,  and  Dr. 
Camps  remained  with  his  people. 

As  Florida  and  the  Spanish  countries  did  not 
become  a  part  of  the  American  Union  until  some 
time  after  the  Revolution  and  the  acknowledg 
ment  of  our  independence,  we  must  treat  that 
part  of  our  history  without  reference  to  the 
Revolution.  Spain  recovered  a  temporary  reign 
in  West  Florida  as  a  result  of  the  war  which  she 
declared  against  England  in  1779.  The  Spanish 
Governor  of  Louisiana,  Don  Bernardo  Galvez, 
captured  Fort  Manahac  on  September  7,  1779, 
and  soon  after  Natchez,  and  on  March  12,  1780, 
Mobile.  At  the  latter  place  Father  Salvador  de  la 
Esperanza  remained  as  pastor,  and  a  succession 
of  priests  ministered  to  the  flock  for  several 
years,  until  1787.  The  Church  in  West  Florida 
enjoyed  its  freedom  once  more.  But  the  poor 
Minorcans  in  East  Florida  suffered  under  the 
cruelty  of  Turnbull,  whose  plantations  of  indigo 
they  faithfully  cultivated.  His  promises  of  fifty 
acres  of  land  to  each  head  of  a  family,  and 
twenty-five  for  each  child,  were  violated,  but 
practical  slavery  was  their  lot,  and  their  num 
bers  were  greatly  reduced  by  hardships  and  dis 
ease.  A  revolt  in  1769  ended  in  the  seizure  of 
their  leaders,  the  condemnation  of  five  and  the 
execution  of  two.  Again  in  1777  the  persecuted 
Minorcans  rose  against  their  oppressors  and 
marched  to  St.  Augustine,  the  strong  men  armed 
with  pointed  poles,  forming  a  guard  around  the 
old  men,  women  and  children  in  the  centre,  num 
bering  about  six  hundred,  and  it  is  due  to  Gov 
ernor  Moultrie  to  state  that  he  redressed  their 
wrongs,  and  declared  them  free  from  the  oppres 
sive  obligations  they  had  assumed  with  Turn- 
bull.  The  Minorcans  were  led  by  Francis 
Pellicer,  the  ancestor  of  Bishop  Pellicer  of  San 
Antonia  and  Bishop  Manuez  of  Mobile.  They 
remained  at  St.  Augustine,  where  they  strength 
ened  the  Catholic  body  which  had  been  depleted 
by  the  emigration  of  the  Spanish.  Dr.  Camps 
accompanied  his  flock  from  New  Smyrna  to  St. 
Augustine,  and  such  was  the  condition  of  the 
Church  property  at  the  latter  place,  the  old 
parish  church  in  ruins  and  the  convent  in 
military  occupation,  that  the  only  place  he  had 
for  saying  Mass  was  the  humble  residence  of  a 
Minorcan  named  Carrera.  Religion  languished 
in  the  Floridas  for  several  years.  Louisiana  and 


Florida  became  afterwards  united  under  Spanish 
rule ;  religion  then  received  a  fresh  impetus ;  the 
Diocese  of  Louisiana  and  the  Floridas  was 
erected,  and  finally  the  acquisition  of  the  whole 
country  by  the  United  States  paved  the  way  to 
bringing  those  ancient  Catholic  countries  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  American  Catholic 
Hierarchy. 

We  have  seen  that  the  earliest  history  of  the 
Church  in  New  Mexico,  a  Spanish  district,  was 
united  with  that  of  Florida.  Now  we  must  view 
it  separately.  About  the  year  1561  two  Fran 
ciscan  priests,  Father  Francis  Lopez  and  Father 
John,  owing  to  the  prayers  and  appeals  of  a 
Franciscan  lay  brother,  Augustine  Rodriguez, 
who  had  visited  the  country  and  ascended  beyond 
Zacatecas  and  as  far  as  the  valley  of  San  Bar- 
tolome,  accepted  the  arduous  mission,  and  went 
among  the  Pueblos  ;  they  called  the  country  New 
Mexico.  Brother  Augustine  accompanied  them, 
escorted  by  Spanish  soldiers  to  their  new  field  of 
labor,  and  there  left  in  apparent  security  among  a 
people  disposed  to  listen  to  the  Word.  It  was 
not  long  before  both  priests  and  the  good  brother 
became  martyrs  to  the  faith,  slain  by  the  hands 
of  those  they  came  to  save  to  eternal  life.  An 
expedition  to  recover  their  bodies  led  by  Espejo 
and  Father  Beltran,  while  failing  of  its  object, 
led  to  the  exploration  of  the  country  of  the 
Zuni,  and  Espejo  sought  to  acquire  the  country 
for  Spanish  Mexico ;  another  effort  was  made  by 
Castenon,  but  it  was  only  under  Juan  de  Onate, 
in  1595,  that  the  conquest  was  accomplished. 
The  Franciscans  from  Mexico  accompanied 
these  early  expeditions,  missions  were  founded 
and  several  martyrs  re-consecrated  the  land  by 
their  blood  to  Christ.  It  was  not  until  1598  that 
New  Mexico  was  with  civil  pomp  and  religious 
ceremony  formally  taken  possession  of  in  the 
name  of  the  King  of  Spain.  The  first  Spanish 
church  was  erected  at  the  new  city  of  Real  de  San 
Juan  and  was  commenced  on  August  23d  of  that 
year,  and  this  was  followed  by  the  erection  of  a 
residence  and  barracks.  Missions  were  now 
founded  by  the  Franciscans  at  Pecos,  Picuries, 
Taos,  Cheres,  Jernez,  Lia  and  Tiquas,  and  to 
each  mission  was  attached  an  allotted  number 
of  Pueblos.  At  first  all  seemed  peaceful  and 
prosperous,  but  before  the  close  of  the  year  a 
revolt  broke  out  among  the  Pueblos  of  Acoma, 


xliv 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


who  had  attacked  the  Spaniards,  and  the  latter 
proceeded  at  once  to  reduce  the  town  and  destroy 
it   by  fire.     Onate,  having   penetrated  and  ex 
plored   the   country,   Quivira  was  reached  and 
towns  and  missions  multiplied,  but  missionaries 
as  well  as  colonists  had  reason  to  complain  of 
the  tyranny  of  the  Spanish  commander  of  the 
country,  and  from  this  cause  the  missions  suf 
fered.     Onate  now  carried  his  explorations  to 
ward  the  shores  of  the  Pacific,  passed  through 
the  towns  of  Zuni  and  Moqui,  crossed  the  Colo 
rado  and  Gila  Rivers,  and  founded  the  city  of 
Santa  Fe,  which  he  established  as  the  seat  of 
the  Spanish  authority  over  the  country.     That 
entire  region  of  New  Mexico  was  confided  to  the 
spiritual  caie  of  the  Franciscans,  and  a  commis 
sary  of  that  order  was  appointed  their  'superior. 
The  mission  was  an  arduous  one,  but  after  some 
years  became  fruitful,  so  that  in  1608  the  Fathers 
had  baptized  eight  thousand    Indians.     Father 
Jerome  de  Zarate  Salmeron  in  eight  years  had 
baptized   nearly  seven  thousand  of  the  Jemes; 
churches  and  missionary  residences  were  erected 
in  every  mission,  and  books  of  instruction   in 
the  native  dialects  were  provided  by  the  studious 
and  learned  Fathers.     In  1622  the  missions  had 
so  increased  and  prospered  that  the  religious  or 
ganization  was  advanced  from  a  commissary  to 
the    dignity  and  jurisdiction  of  a  custodia;  in 
1622  twenty-six  missionaries,  and  in    1627  thirty 
more,  and  in  1628  nineteen  priests  and  two  lay 
brothers  were  sent  to  New  Mexico.     But  their 
ranks   were    decimated    by  the  diseases  of  the 
climate    and    the    hardships    of    their    labors. 
Franciscan  convents  and  churches  of  large  and 
costly  proportions  and  designs  were  multiplied, 
so  that  in  New  Mexico  alone  there,  were  forty- 
three  churches  and  eighty  thousand  Indians  had 
been  baptized.    The  churches  and  convents  were 
mostly  built  by  the  Pueblo  women  and  children, 
who  were  inured  to  this  work.     The  Pueblos  of 
New  Mexico  resided  in  large  barrack-like  houses, 
built  of  sun-dried  bricks,  several  stories  high  and 
capable  of  easy  defence.     The  missionaries  in 
troduced  among  them  the  European  horse,  cattle, 
sheep    and    domestic  animals,  schools    for   the 
secular  and  religious  instruction  of  the  young, 
and  the  mechanical  and  useful  arts  and  trades. 
The   whole    coiintry   was   renovated  with    new 
towns    and    settlements ;    in    1645    there   were 


twenty-five  Indian  missions,  attended  by  sixty 
Franciscans.  But  all  was  not  peace  and  pros 
perity,  for  here  too  the  missions  suffered  from 
the  arbitrary  conduct  of  Spanish  governors. 

In  1664  Peiialosa  illegally  arrested  the  Fran 
ciscan  commissary,  and  the  conflict  between  the 
civil  and  religious  authorities  was  a  scandal  to 
the  neophytes.  The  Indians,  too,  were  goaded 
to  revolt  by  Spanish  cruelty  and  tyranny,  and  in 
1680  a  conspiracy  to  murder  the  Spaniards  and 
missionaries  and  burn  their  houses,  public  build 
ings,  convents,  and  churches  was  led  by  El  Pope, 
a  Tejua  Indian,  and  brought  to  a  head ;  so  gen 
eral  was  the  massacre  of  Spaniards  and  mission 
aries,  and  the  burning  of  churches,  convents,  and 
towns,  that  the  work  of  a  few  days  left  scarcely 
a  Spaniard  living  in  New  Mexico  outside  of  Santa 
Fe,  except  a  few  women  held  as  slaves.  Santa 
Fe  was  attacked,  and  after  city,  churches,  and 
convents  were  destroyed,  was  about  to  succumb 
entirely  when  a  desperate  charge  by  the  three 
hundred  Spaniards  in  the  plaza  and  official  build 
ings,  encouraged  by  the  appeals  of  Fathers  de  la 
Cadina,  Duran,  and  Farfan,  defeated  the  attack 
ing  army  and  dispersed  it,  and  now  the  entire 
remnant  of  the  Spanish  population  took  refuge 
in  a  fortified  post  at  La  Salineta  and  San  Lorenzo. 
Santa  Fe  was  given  up  to  pillage  and  fire,  more 
than  four  hundred  were  killed  in  this  town  alone 
and  many  more  wounded,  and  the  carnage  among 
the  Catholic  Indians,  who  defended  themselves, 
was  much  greater.  Eighteen  priests  met  their 
death  in  the  great  rebellion  of  1680,  including 
Father  Bernal,  Superior  of  the  Mission.  The 
rebellious  Indians  had  abandoned  their  faith  and 
went  so  far  as  to  repair,  after  their  work  of  death 
and  sacrilege  was  done,  in  a  body  to  the  little 
Santa  Fe  river,  and  there  stripping  off  their 
clothes,  washed  their  bodies  in  the  soap-weed,  to 
"  wash  off  their  baptism."  Unspeakable  cruelties 
were  heaped  upon  the  missionaries,  and  the  deaths 
which  they  met  were  most  cruel.  Religion 
seemed  extinct  in  New  Mexico.  The  tribes  soon 
turned  upon  each  other  and  self-destruction 
seemed  like  retributive  justice,  and  the  remnants 
of  the  people  were  attacked  and  almost  destroyed 
by  the  Utes  and  Apaches.  A  brave  attempt  was 
made  at  the  earnest  appeal  of  Father  Ayeta,  Pro 
curator-general  of  the  Franciscans  of  El  Paso,  by 
Otermin,  accompanied  by  Spanish  soldiers  and 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


such  Christian  Pueblos  as  joined  his  army  ;  they 
passed  over  the  desolate  region  from  El  Paso  to 
Santa  Fe,  called  the  journey  of  death  ;  Francis 
can  Fathers  accompanied  the  expedition  and  bap 
tized  a  number  of  Indians ;  but  near  Santa  Fe 
they  learned  of  a  new  conspiracy  to  massacre  the 
entire  army,  and  they  returned  back  to  El  Paso, 
which  they  reached  on  February  n,  1682.     In 
the  face  of  such  misfortunes  and  persecutions  the 
Franciscans  still  labored  and  suffered  for  the  sal 
vation  of  the  New  Mexicans,  making   another 
attempt  in    1683   to  penetrate  the  country  with 
the  saving  means  of  regeneration,  but  were  again 
seized,  stripped,  slain,  or  driven  from  the  county 
with  loss  of  all  ecclesiastical  property  and  the 
commission   of    many    sacrileges.      Subsequent 
efforts  were  made  to   recover  the  country,  but 
without  success.     Spanish  indiscretion  and  tyr 
anny  had  lost  the  land   to   civilization   and  re 
ligion,  for  in  1690  little  remained    of  the   once 
successful  and  edifying  Christian  communities 
of   New  Mexico.     But   the   expedition   of  Don 
Diego  de  Vargas,  in  1692,  resulted  at  least  in  re 
ducing  the  country  to  the  Spanish  yoke,  and  in 
a  partial  restoration  of  religion  among  the  rem 
nants  of  the  Catholic  Indians.     Leaving  El  Paso 
on  August  31,  and  making  the  wearisome  jour 
ney  with  vigor  and  speed,  he  entered  Santa  Fe 
on  September  12,  and  posted  his  army  near  the 
Church  of  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe,  and  next  day 
attacked  the  rebellious  Indians,  numbering  ten 
thousand,  in  a  fortified  spot  now  known  as  the 
plaza,  and  after  a  sanguinary  battle,  which  lasted 
all  day  without  result,  on  the  following  morning 
completely  routed  and  dispersed  them.     In  ful 
filment  of    a   vow,  he   erected  a  shrine  of  Our 
Lady  of  the  Rosary,  and  attributing  his  victory 
to  her,  celebrated  his  success  with  solemn  relig 
ious  services  in  her  honor.     The  present  Church 
of  Our  Lady  of  the  Rosary  stands  on  the  same 
spot.     The  Indian  nations  of  New  Mexico  were 
now    completely    subdued ;    the    Pueblos,   now 
broken  in  spirit  and  submissive  to  their  Spanish 
masters,  were  collected  together  and  distributed 
in  towns,  and  universal  peace  reigned.     Vargas 
restored  the  churches,  rebuilt  many  towns,  and 
the  faithful  Franciscans  were  there  to  labor  for 
the  restoration  of  religion.     In  the  city  of  Santa 
Fe  the  Fathers  baptized  seven  hundred  and  sixty- 
nine  persons.     Henceforth  the  civil  and  ecclesias- 


xlv 

tical  power  of  the  Spaniards  was  universally  rec 
ognized  by  the  people  of  New  Mexico.  The 
ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  was  vested  in  the  Order 
of  St.  Francis,  whose  sons  had  suffered  every 
cruelty  and  hardship,  and  many  of  them  martyr- 


- 


Church  of  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe,  Santa  F£. 

dom,  to  win  the  land  to  Christ.  Vargas,  with 
the  most  solemn  religious  services,  placed  Father 
Salvador,  Gustos  of  the  Franciscans,  and  his  six 
teen  companions,  in  possession  of  all  the  mis 
sions. 

Beneath  the  surface  there  still  lingered  among 
the  rebellious  Jemes  and  other  tribes  deep  senti 
ments  of  resentment  against  the  Spaniards,  which 
found  vent  in  local  attempts  at  rebellion,  one  of 
which  resulted  in  the  murder  of  the  Franciscan 
missionary,  Father  John  of  Jesus.  Vargas  was 
kind  and  generous  to  all  who  submitted,  but  to 
the  rebellious  he  was  unsparingly  cruel ;  he 
rightly  judged,  however,  that  the  presence  of  the 
Franciscans  in  their  midst  was  the  best  means  of 
pacifying  the  conquered  people.  Missions  with 
devoted  missionaries  were  established  throughout 
the  country.  The  missionaries  lived  in  constant 
danger,  and  they  knew  and  reported  to  Vargas 
the  existence  of  danger,  but  he  taunted  them 
with  cowardice  and  refused  the  military  protec 
tion  of  a  few  soldiers  at  each  mission.  Finally 
a  new  revolt  broke  out  in  June,  1696,  among  the 
Picuries,  Taos,  Tehuas,  Tanos,  Queres,  and  the 
ever  insubordinate  Jemes,  which  resulted  in  the 
profanation  and  destruction  of  churches  and  con 
vents  and  everything  sacred,  and  in  the  massacre 
of  the  missionaries.  Vargas  now  commenced  a 
war  of  reduction  and  partial  extermination,  which 


xlvi 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


kept  him  and  his  successor,  Cubero,  busy  for 
years,  and  during  these  disastrous  years  the 
missionaries  were  in  constant  danger,  suffered 
often  from  plots  against  their  lives  and  frequently 
needed  military  protection.  Some  rebellious  tribes 
were  persuaded  by  the  missionaries  to  leave  their 
mountain  retreats  and  return  to  the  colony  ;  from 
time  to  time  new  missions  were  founded,  but  it 
was  a  sad  spectacle  to  see  the  gospel  of  peace 
presented,  in  the  midst  of  a  war  of  suppression, 
to  a  weak  and  ignorant  people.  The  wrongs  they 
suffered  from  Spanish  misrule  presented  the  most 
serious  obstacle  to  their  conversion.  In  the  face 
of  such  misfortunes  religion  saved  and  restored 
much,  and  made  some  progress.  The  ecclesias 
tical  jurisdiction  of  New  Mexico  was  attached  to 
the  Diocese  of  Guadalajara  until  1720,  when  it 
was  transferred  to  the  new  Diocese  of  Durango, 
and  in  1723  Bishop  Crespo  extended  his  visita 
tion  into  New  Mexico,  and  by  his  presence,  en 
ergy,  and  good  words,  supported  the  missionaries 
in  their  arduous  work.  Again  in  1736  New 
Mexico  had  an  episcopal  visitation  from  Bishop 
de  Elizacochea.  In  1733  and  1742  new  missions 
were  established,  but  it  is  a  singular  commentary 
on  the  good  faith  of  the  Spanish  governor  of  that 
day  that  he  broke  up  the  new  missions  among 
the  Apaches  for  the  reason  of  their  supposed  in 
terference  with  the  fur  trade.  Yet  in  1748  we 
have  accounts  of  twenty-two  well-doing  missions 
among  the  Indians,  while  churches  were  main 
tained  for  the  Spaniards  at  nine  principal  and 
several  smaller  places,  and  twenty-two  Francis 
can  Fathers  were  kept  busy  in  the  territory. 

Our  Territory  of  Arizona,  forming  part  of  the 
Mexican  country  of  the  Upper  Pima,  was  em 
braced  within  the  apostolic  labors  of  the  illus 
trious  missionary,  Father  Euselius  Francis 
Kuhn,  called  by  the  Spaniards  Kino,  of  the  So 
ciety  of  Jesus.  The  Mexican  missions  of  the 
Jesuits,  after  they  left  Florida,  rivalled  those  of 
the  Franciscans  in  New  Mexico,  and  in  1696 
Father  Kino  established  flourishing  missions  at 
Guevavi,  Cocospera,  San  Cayetano,  and  San 
Xavier  del  Bac,  the  latter  being  the  most  exten 
sive  rancheria,  and  here  under  Bishop  Mache- 
beuf  in  our  own  times  the  old  mission  has  been 
revived  and  the  ancient  chapels  and  residence  re 
paired.  An  historical  account  of  this  venerable 
shrine  and  mission  has  recently  been  published 


by  the  Bishop.  The  mission  of  Santa  Maria 
Soamca,  and  that  of  St.  Francis  Xavier  at  Mag- 
dalena,  in  1711,  were  founded.  In  1727  the 
Bishop  of  Durango  visited  the  Arizona  missions, 
and  finding  them  running  down,  obtained  aid  for 


Old  Fort  Marcy,  Santa  F£. 

the  principal  missions  from  the  King  of  Spain. 
In  1731  the  Jesuits  revived  the  missions  at  Gue 
vavi  and  San  Xavier  del  Bac,  and  sent  new  mis 
sionaries,  three  central  missions ;  having  several 
smaller  ones  attached.  The  fierce  Apaches  sev 
eral  times  attacked  the  missions,  a  moving  garri 
son  of  soldiers  was  organized  for  their  protection, 
and  then  even  the  Apaches,  in  1750,  destroyed 
several  missions  and  murdered  Fathers  Tello 
and  Ruhen.  Father  Sedelmayr  had  a  mission 
on  the  Gila  River,  and  Fathers  Middendorf  and 
Keler  labored  in  the  same  direction.  What  the 
heathen  Apaches  left  undone  the  Catholic  King 
of  Spain  finished,  and  by  his  order  every  one  of 
the  Jesuit  missionaries  in  Arizona  was  arrested 
and  imprisoned  on  board  the  Spanish  vessels  like 
so  many  malefactors.  Between  king  and  savage 
there  was  little  left  of  the  once  flourishing 
Church  of  Arizona. 

Texas  received  its  name  from  the  Asinais  word 
texas,  which  meant  we  are  friends,  and  which 
was  the  friendly  greeting  the  first  Spanish  visit 
ors  received  from  the  natives.  The  Franciscan 
Father  Lopez  reached  the  Texas  Indians  on  the 
Nueces  from  New  Mexico.  The  French,  how 
ever,  from  Canada  under  La  Salle,  were  probably 
the  first  to  essay  the  establishment  of  a  mission. 
But  in  1689  the  Spanish  authorities  of  Mexico 
asserted  their  jurisdiction  in  Texas  under  Don 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


xlvii 


AIoiizo  de  Leon,  who  was  accompanied  by  Fraii- 
ciscan  missionaries  under  their  Superior,  Father 
Mazaiiet.  The  Franciscans  found  among  the 
Asinais  a  rustic  chapel,  surmounted  by  the 
cross,  a  remnant  of  the  transient  French  mis 
sion.  The  tragic  ending  of  La  Salle's  brief  oc 
cupation  of  Texas,  by  the  massacre  of  all  at  the 
hands  of  the  Indians,  left  the  field  free  to  the 
Spaniards,  who  resolved  to  establish  missions 
there.  In  March,  1690,  Father  Mazanet  and  his 
companions,  Fathers  Fontcubierta,  Casanas,  Bor- 
doy  and  Perera,  set  out  from  the  mission  of  Mon- 
clova,  and  marching  across  the  vast  country  and 
crossing  the  Rio  Grande,  reached  the  Asinais  in 
May,  and  the  mission  of  San  Francisco  de  los 


The  Priest  as  a  Physician. 

Texas  was  the  first  fruit  of  their  generous  labors. 
Next  came  the  heroic  death  of  Father  Fontcu 
bierta  in  1691,  who  fell  a  victim  to  small-pox, 
contracted  while  nursing  the  pest-stricken  na 
tives.  Efforts  were  made  to  found  eight  new 
missions  between  1691  and  1693,  but  after  suf 
fering  from  exposure  and  the  climate,  and  still 
more  from  the  treachery  of  wicked  and  depraved 
Spanish  soldiers,  who  even  fomented  Indian  hos 
tility  against  them,  the  Franciscans  were  forced 
to  abandon  all  efforts.  In  1700  the  good  work 
was  renewed,  and  the  flourishing  missions  on 
the  Sabinas  and  Rio  Grande  were  founded.  In 
1718  the  central  mission  of  Texas  was  founded 


at  San  Antonio.  In  1715  the  Asinais  missions 
were  revived.  The  saintly  Father  Anthony' 
Margil  was  the  apostle  of  Texas,  and  the  con 
version  of  the  Talamancas,  Ferrabas,  and  several 
other  tribes,  the  acquisition  of  the  Indian  lan 
guages,  and  the  missionary  college  at  Guatemala, 
were  only  some  of  the  fruits  of  his  apostoiic 
labors.  Wherever  there  now  remains  in  Texas 
an  old  Spanish  Catholic  name,  there  was  in  olden 
times  a  Catholic  mission.  The  first  martyr  of 
Texas  was  the  Franciscan  Brother  Joseph  Peta, 
who  gave  his  life  to  save  that  of  a  Spanish  sol 
dier,  and  was  thus  killed  by  the  Apaches.  San 
Antonio,  under  Father  Margil's  almost  super 
natural  labors,  became  the  centre  of  a  host  of 
Texan  missions.  Like  the  missions  of  New 
Mexico,  those  of  Texas  suffered  more  from  the 
treachery,  rapacity  and  tyranny  of  the  Spanish 
local  officials  and  military  than  from  the  fierce 
raids  of  the  Apaches ;  and,  finally,  when  the 
good  will  of  the  Apaches  seemed  to  have  been 
gained  by  the  charity  and  mildness  of  the  mis 
sionaries,  jealousy  seized  the  hearts  of  the  Texan 
tribes,  who  regarded  the  Apaches  as  their  heredi 
tary  enemies,  and  a  saintly  missionary,  Father 
Terreros,  forfeited  his  life  at  the  hands  of  the 
Texans.  In  1759  Bishop  Tejada  made  a  thorough 
visitation  of  all  Texas,  conferring  confirmation, 
restoring  missions  and  churches,  and  reviving 
religion  everywhere.  The  Spanish  population 
of  all  Texas  at  that  time  was  about  3000.  The 
mission  of  San  Jose  became  the  central  mission 
of  Texas.  Fathers  Garcia  and  Prado  should  be 
mentioned  as  prominent  among  the  apostolic  mis 
sionaries  of  Texas.  The  Texas  missions  thus 
founded  struggled  on  against  Indian  hostilities 
and  Spanish  mismanagement  and  oppression. 
Many  confessors  of  the  faith  and  martyrs  conse 
crated  the  land  by  their  sufferings  and  deaths,  and 
when,  in  1842,  the  Vicaricle  Apostolic  of  Texas 
was  created,  they  were  existing  in  a  languishing 
state.  Their  revival  and  present  flourishing  con 
dition  belong  to  another  part  of  our  history. 

The  missions  of  California  were  of  Spanish 
origin:  discovered  by  Cortez  in  1536,  and 
visited  in  1596  by  Franciscans,  when  a  chapel 
was  built,  accompanied  by  the  usual  Spanish 
fort ;  for  with  the  Spaniards  the  sword  and  the 
cross  went  together.  But  hostile  Indians  dis 
pelled  the  first  hopes  of  the  missionaries.  Father 


dviii 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


Kiihn,  or  Kino,  demonstrated  that  California  was 
a  part  of  the  main  land,  previous  visitors  having 
reported  it  to  be  an  island.  In  1601  an  expedi 
tion  for  its  reduction  was  accompanied  by  Car 
melites,  and  before  the  close  of  the  year  Santa 
Barbara,  Monterey  and  San  Francisco  were 
visited,  and  the  soil  blessed  with  chapel  and 
sacrifice.  The  celebrated  Jesuit  missions  in 
Lower  California  were  founded  first  by  Father 
Cortes  in  1642  and  again  by  Father  Kiihn,  or 
Kino,  in  1679.  The  first  permanent  mission 
was  established  in  1697  ^J  Father  Salvatierra 
at  Loretto.  These  illustrious  missions,  unsur 
passed  even  by  the  celebrated  missions  in  Para 
guay,  were  exterminated  in  1768  by  the  Spanish 
government,  and  all  the  Jesuit  Fathers,  sixteen 
in  number,  were  arrested  and  banished  from 
California. 

The  Franciscans  heroically  advanced  to  oc 
cupy  the  field  from  which  the  Jesuits  had  been 
driven,  and  the  illustrious  Father  Junipero 
Serra,  accompanied  by  eleven  Franciscans  and 
four  seculars,  reached  Loretto  early  in  April, 
1768.  The  former  Jesuit  stations  having  been 
first  supplied  with  missionaries,  three  missions 
were  planted  in  Upper  California,  at  San  Carlos 
de  Monterey,  San  Diego,  and  San  Bonaventura, 
and  Father  Serra  himself  accompanied  the  new 
apostles  of  California  from  Loretto  to  their  new 
missions,  government  expeditions  by  land  and 
sea  escorting  them  to  their  destination.  Fathers 
Parron,  Vizcaino  and  Gomez,  were  the  first,  and 
Father  Crespi  afterwards.  Father  Serra,  in 
1770,  at  San  Carlos,  founded  that  mission.  With 
the  exception  of  a  slight  demonstration  of 
hostility  at  first,  the  most  friendly  relations 
were  established  with  the  Indians,  and  the  news 
of  the  successful  foundation  of  the  California 
missions  were  received  in  Mexico  with  every  ex 
pression  of  joy.  Thirty  new  Franciscan  Fathers 
were  sent  to  California,  ten  of  whom  were  for 
the  upper  part,  and  the  Dominicans  enthusi 
astically  requested  permission  to  enter  the  same 
field.  On  the  i4th  of  July,  1771,  Father  Serra, 
with  Fathers  Pieras  and  Bonaventura,  founded 
the  mission  of  St.  Anthony  of  Padua,  in  the 
Sierra  Sante  Lucia,  on  the  River  San  Antonio. 
The  mission  of  Mt.  Carmel  was  erected  to  su 
persede  that  of  Monterey,  and  San  Gabriel  was 
soon  afterwards  founded  by  Fathers  Somera  and 


Cambon.  Relying  at  first  for  supplies  from 
Mexico,  the  missionaries  suffered  for  food ;  the 
indefatigable  Father  Jayme,  at  San  Diego,  was 
despatched  to  Old  California  for  relief;  but  the 
ever  vigilant  and  tender  Father  Serra  anticipated 
their  relief  by  sending  Father  Crespi  with  pro 
visions  to  San  Diego.  On  the  return  of  Father 
Dumetz  from  Old  California  with  ample  provis 
ions  and  three  new  missionaries,  Father  Serra 
founded,  on  September  i,  1772,  the  new  mission 
San  Luis  Opispo,  and  soon  afterwards  that  of 
Santa  Barbara.  The  Dominicans  having  applied 
for  the  missions  of  California,  the  field  was 
divided  between  them  and  the  Franciscans,  the 
former  taking  the  old  Jesuit  missions  in  Old 
California,  while  the  latter  continued  to  attend 
those  of  Upper  California,  so  recently  founded 
by  Father  Serra,  who  sent  them  fresh  mission 
aries  from  Mexico,  whither  he  had  gone  for  the 
interests  of  the  missions,  and  which  he  inspired 
with  new  vigor  on  his  return. 

But  now  the  missions  of  Upper  California, 
heretofore  so  universally  prosperous,  were  to  re 
ceive  a  serious  check  and  loss.  Two  of  the 
newly  baptized  Indians  of  San  Diego  suddenly 
disappeared,  and,  before  their  absence  could  be 
accounted  for,  they  returned  with  an  army  of 
Indian  recruits  rallied  by  the  two  apostates,  and 
made  a  furious  attack  at  night  on  the  mission 
and  fort,  where  Fathers  Jayme  and  Vincent  were 
stationed.  Everything  perished  by  fire  and 
sword,  and  the  saintly  Father  Jayme,  suddenly 
aroused  and  supposing  the  fire  was  accidental, 
advanced  with  his  accustomed  salutation,  Love 
God,  my  children,  when  he  received  the  crown  of 
martyrdom  from  those  he  had  blessed  in  vain. 
While  this  blow  led  many  to  desire  to  abandon 
San  Diego  and  other  missions,  the  missionaries 
were  fired  to  greater  exertions  and  labors  by  the 
intrepid  words  of  Father  Serra,  "  Thank  God, 
that  field  is  watered."  Thus  their  energy  and 
zeal  overcame  all  obstacles ;  not  only  San  Di 
ego  was  restored  and  rebuilt  under  appalling 
difficulties,  but  new  missions  arose.  It  was  at 
Father  Serra's  suggestion  that  the  Bay  of  San 
Francisco  had  been  thoroughly  explored,  and 
now,  on  Jiine  27,  1776,  the  mission  of  San 
Francisco  was  founded,  and  on  January  6,  1777, 
that  of  Santa  Clara.  The  Franciscans  in  Cali 
fornia  founded  new  communities  with  their  mis- 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


xlix 


sions ;  mechanical  arts,  substantial  buildings, 
herds  of  cattle,  and  all  the  appliances  of  civil 
ization  were  at  once  introduced,  and  the  savages 
became  organized  in  civilized  communities, 
trading  and  exchanging  even  with  Europe. 
Father  Serra,  the  illustrious  apostle  of  Cali 
fornia,  had  been  appointed  Prefect  Apostolic,  and 
on  June  16,  1774,  he  received  from  Rome  the 
power  of  administering  the  sacrament  of  con 
firmation  to  his  flock.  The  Spanish  govern 
ment  and  its  officials  were  the  greatest  foes  of 
missions  in  fact,  while  professing  to  foster  them 
with  material  aid  and  guard  them  with  soldiers. 
The  system  of  the  old  Jesuit  missionaries  in  de 
veloping  and  managing  the  temporal  as  well  as 
the  spiritual  interests  of  their  converts  was  fol 
lowed  by  the  Franciscans,  but  the  narrow-minded 
government  ordered  them  to  confine  their  efforts 
solely  to  the  spiritual  instruction  of  the  com 
munities  of  converts  in  all  new  missions. 
Spanish  soldiers  appropriated  the  best  lands  and 
expelled  the  Indians  therefrom,  and  as  a  fruit 
of  their  avarice  and  injustice  the  Indians  of  the 
new  missions  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  arose  in 
their  vengeance,  assailed  the  two  missions  and 
garrisons,  which  they  fired,  murdered  the  com 
mander  Rivera,  the  soldiers  and  most  of  the 
settlers.  Five  saintly  missionaries,  Fathers 
Diez,  Morena,  Garces  and  Barraneche,  perished 
at  the  hands  of  their  own  savage  children.  On 
August  28,  1784,  the  illustrious  and  venerable 
Father  Junipero  Serra,  after  having  opened  this 
vast  country  to  civilization  and  religion,  planted 
it  with  Christian  communities,  and  spent  his  life 
in  labor,  travels  and  privation,  gave  up  his  noble 
soul  and  died  in  the  odor  of  sanctity. 

Father  Palou,  succeeding  to  his  authority  as 
Prefect  Apostolic,  prosecuted  his  great  work  with 
extraordinary  vigor  and  success.  Founding 
Santa  Barbara  in  December,  1 786,  La  Purissima 
Concepcion,  Santa  Cruz,  Nuestra  Senora  de  la 
Soledad  followed.  Father  Lazven,  his  successor, 
founded  San  Jose,  San  Miguel,  and  San  Fer 
nando  Rey  in  1797,  and  Father  Peyri  that  of 
San  Louis  Rey  de  Francis,  which  soon  had  its 
3500  converts,  residing  in  twenty  ranches  teem 
ing  with  industry  and  thrift,  and  which  in  time 
became  a  marvel  of  heavenly  and  earthly  pros 


perity.  Long  years  of  government  neglect 
caused  the  missions  to  decline  in  spite  of  the 
self-sacrifice  and  labors  of  the  Fathers,  and  finally 
they  were  ruined  under  the  Mexican  Republic 
and  the  first  governor,  Echandia,  of  whom  it  has 
well  been  said  that  he  was  "the  scourge  of  Cali 
fornia,  an  instigator  of  vice,  who  sowed  deeds  of 
dishonor  not  to  be  extirpated,  while  a  mission  re 
mains  to  be  robbed."  The  temporalities  of  the 
missions  were  usurped,  saintly  missionaries  were 
persecuted  and  driven  from  their  missions,  and 
systematic  robbery  became  the  rule.  Mission 
after  mission,  exhausted  by  robbery,  sank  into 
decay,  and  the  missionaries  were  forced  to  leave 
the  country,  and  finally,  in  1837, the  suppression 
of  the  missions  of  California  was  formally  de 
creed  by  the  Mexican  Congress.  At  the  time 
of  the  suppression  these  Christian  communities 
under  the  guidance  of  the  Fathers  contained 
30,650  converted  Indians,  424,000  head  of  cattle, 
62,500  horses,  321,500  sheep,  and  their  annual 
crop  of  wheat  and  corn  was  122,500  bushels. 
Now  all  was  turned  over  to  rapacious  officials, 
rations  doled  out  with  stint  or  not  at  all,  and 
Father  Fortuni,  who  had  aided  in  building  them 
up  to  thrive,  died  in  the  midst  of  the  missions 
from  starvation  and  exhaustion.  In  1840  Father 
Francisco  Garcia  Diego,  an  old  California  mis 
sionary,  was  made  first  Bishop  of  California,  but 
his  generous  hand  was  unable  to  restore  what 
had  been  destroyed.  Many  missions  were  en 
tirely  extinct,  their  religion  and  material  pros 
perity  gone,  the  Catholic  Indians  reduced  in 
numbers  from  30,000  to  4450,  and  their  cattle 
from  424,000  to  28,000.  In  some  missions  a  little 
was  saved  by  the  more  than  human  efforts  of 
missionaries  who  had  the  courage  to  remain,  but 
most  of  the  missions  were  either  extinguished  or 
in  ruins  ;  the  missionaries  suffered  hunger  in  the 
land  they  had  made  plentiful,  and  the  Indians 
fled  to  the  mountains,  from  which  their  chil 
dren  descended  afterwards  to  plunder  the  white 
settlements.  When  California  became  a  part 
of  the  United  States,  and  the  Bishop  of  Cali-1 
fornia  a  member  of  the  American  Catholic  Hi 
erarchy,  the  remnants  of  the  once  flourishing 
missions  stood  as  a  reproach  to  European  civili 
zation. 


The  Early  French  Missions  in  America. 

PART   III. 

THE  FRENCH  ELEMENTS  IN  OUR  HISTORY. 

The  French  Missions  and  Discoveries  in  the  North,  Northwest,  Mississippi  Valley,  and  the  large  region  of  country  originally  known 
as  Louisiana  ;  Texas,  New  Mexico,  Arizona  and  California— Distinguished  Missionaries,  Martyrs  and  Confessors  of  the  Faith— The 
Acadians. 


[HAT  portion  of  our  early  colo 
nial  and  national  history  which 
has  a  French  origin  is  replete 
with  interesting  and  heroic  in 
cidents,  which  at  once  illustrate 
the  highest  and  best  character 
istics  of  the  noble  French  race, 
and  the  most  exalted  virtues 
and  supernatural  forces  of  the 
Catholic  Church.  Whenever  the  Catholic 
Church  has  been  brought  face  to  face  with  new 
and  heathen  nations,  she  has  shown  herself 
identical  with,  and  possessing  the  same  powers 
and  inspirations  as,  the  Church  when  she  sprang 
young  and  normal  from  the  bosom  of  our  Sav 
iour,  and  when  the  Apostles  at  Pentecost  preached 
to  men  of  every  tongue,  each  in  his  own  lan 
guage.  Catholic  missionaries  accommodate  them 
selves  to  every  nation,  however  civilized,  however 
barbarous,  accept  their  forms  of  government  and 
(i) 


are  loyal  to  them,  assimilate  their  foods,  wear 
their  costumes,  respect  their  national  traditions, 
customs  and  literature,  sympathize  with  their 
afflictions,  and  possess  in  an  extraordinary  de 
gree  the  faculty  of  acquiring  their  dialects,  of 
instructing  the  natives  in  their  own  languages, 
and  of  producing  books  of  Christian  instruction 
in  them.  They  identify  themselves  with  the 
temporal  and  eternal  interests  of  every  people. 
Such  was  the  secret  of  their  wonderful  power 
and  success  with  the  Indians  of  our  continent. 

The  French  navigator,  Jacques  Cartier,  as 
early  as  1534,  sailing  from  St.  Malo,  reached  the 
coasts  of  Newfoundland  and  planted  the  cross  in 
the  soil  of  Labrador.  In  the  following  year  he 
and  his  companions,  after  hearing  Mass  in  the 
Cathedral  of  St.  Malo,  and  receiving  the  Bishop's 
blessing,  crossed  the  Atlantic,  sailed  up  the  St. 
Lawrence,  gave  Montreal  its  name,  and  in  his 
subsequent  coasting  may  have  seen  and  visited 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


li 


the  coasts  of  New  England.  The  French  also 
claim  to  have  landed,  built  a  fort,  and  Cartier 
must  have,  in  his  more  southern  sailing  perhaps, 
visited  the  Indians  on  the  coast  and  up  the  river 
Nuremberga  prior  to  1575. 

His  commission  places  the  extension  of  the 


Jacques  Cartier. 

realms  of  Christendom  and  the  planting  of 
Mother  Church  among  heathen  nations  as  the 
chief  object  of  his  expeditions.  It  was  through 
French  efforts  in.  Canada,  the  founding  of  New 
France,  now  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  that  the 
Catholic  faith  was  first  planted  within  our  north 
ern  boundaries.  It  is  not  within  the  province  of 
our  work  to  go  into  the  details  of  Canadian  his 
tory  leading  to  this  result.  The  honored  name 
of  Sieur  de  Monts,  whose  operations  extended 
from  New  Brunswick  to  the  northern  territory 
of  our  State  of  Maine,  the  first  of  the  French 
explorers  and  colonizers  to  carry  missionaries 
and  plant  the  cross  in  our  northeastern  soil, 
should  be  mentioned.  Also  that  of  Poutrincourt 
and  of  the  missionaries  Biard  and  Masse  are  en 
titled  to  honor,  as  well  as  that  of  Madame  de 
Guercheville,  all  of  whom  contributed  to  the  es 
tablishing  of  a  mission  on  Mount  Desert  Island. 
This  was  in  1613.  In  the  north  as  well  as  in  the 
south,  as  we  have  seen,  with  the  English  and  the 
Spanish,  there  was  conflict  between  the  English, 
in  their  efforts  to  acquire  New  England,  and  the 
French,  in  their  struggles  to  found  New  France  : 
for  Argal,  commanding  an  English  vessel  from 
Virginia,  came  and  opened  fire  upon  the  French 


settlement,  and  missions  were  broken  up;  the 
Jesuit  lay  brother,  du  Thet,  received  a  ball  which 
gave  him  the  crown  of  martyrdom,  and  the 
Jesuit  Fathers  Masse,  Biard  and  Quentin  were 
all  arrested,  and  finally  Masse,  with  a  number  of 
the  colonists,  was  abandoned  on  the  ocean,  and 
Biard  and  Quentin  sent  to  Virginia,  whence,  nar 
rowly  escaping  death,  they  finally  reached  Eng 
land,  and  thence  their  native  France.  Argal 
was  sent  back  by  the  governor  of  Virginia  to 
complete  the  destruction  of  St.  Sauveur.  This 


Planting  a  Cross  on.  the  Coast  of  Labrador. 

was  the  end  of  the  first  Catholic  settlement  and 
mission  in  Maine.  The  name  of  the  gallant  and 
able  Champlain  stands  among  the  most  illustrious 
of  early  French  statesmen  and  colonizers.  He 
founded  the  city  of  Quebec,  planted  colonies  and 
missions,  explored  the  country  and  its  rivers  and 
lakes  and  bestowed  his  name  on  Lake  Champlain. 
Recollects  and  Jesuits  struggled  in  the  glorious 
but  arduous  field  of  missionary  labor,  travels 
and  death,  which  led  to  the  discovery  and  explo 
ration  of  the  Mississippi  River  from  above  and 
the  establishment  of  Catholic  missions  extending 
from  the  great  lakes  through  the  Mississippi 
Valley  to  the  mouth  of  the  Mother  of  Waters. 
The  Jesuits  succeeded  the  Recollects,  and  through 
sufferings  and  toil,  hunger  and  travel,  persecu 
tion  and  even  martyrdom,  they  labored.  Some 
of  the  fruits  of  their  heroic  struggles  were  the 


Hi 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


founding  of  the  Abnaki  mission  in  Maine,  the 
Huron  mission,  which  extended  from  Upper 
Canada  into  Michigan  and  Ohio,  the  mission  of 
the  Five  Nations  in  New  York,  the  Ottawa  mis 
sion  in  Wisconsin  and  Michigan,  the  Illinois 
mission,  and  the  missions  of  Louisiana. 

The  death  of  the  first  martyr  of  the  Abnaki 
mission,  Brother  du  Thet,  and  the  repose  of  his 
remains  under  the  cross  planted  near  the  place 
of  his  death,  sanctified  our  soil.  Subsequently  to 
this  Recollects  and  Capuchins  from  Quebec  may 
have  visited  the  scenes  of  the  St.  Sauveur  mis 
sion  in  Maine,  but  in  1642  the  Jesuits,  besought 
by  the  Abnakis  of  Maine,  who  had  heard  of  their 
great  charity  and  exalted  purity  of  life  among 
the  kindred  tribes  near  Quebec,  sent  Father 
Druillettes  to  the  Kennebec,  and  his  apostolic 
mission,  though  temporary,  was  blessed  with 
great  success  in  planting  the  first  seed  of  the 
faith.  They  received  his  instructions  with  joy, 
and  he  baptized  such  children  as  were  in  danger 
of  death.  He  visited  the  Capuchin  mission  at 
Pentagoet  and  the  English  settlement,  both  on 
the  Kennebec,  where  he  met  a  warm  reception ; 
afterwards  he  returned  to  his  own  mission  in 
Canada,  and  inspired  his  superiors  with  hopes 
of  future  conquests  for  religion  in  Maine.  But 
the  Capuchins  claimed  this  field  as  their  own, 
and  the  Jesuits  yielded.  In  1650,  however,  the 
Abnakis  again  requested  the  Jesuits  to  come  to 
them,  and  again  Father  Druillettes,  journeying 
twenty-four  days  amid  hardships  and  privations, 
reached  the  chief  village  of  the  Abnakis,  Norridge- 
walk,  and  was  received  with  open  arms  by  chief 
and  people.  After  a  few  days'  instruction  and 
renovation  of  his  former  teaching,  he  proceeded 
on  a  mission  of  humanity  to  Boston,  bearing 
letters  from  the  Canadian  authorities  to  those  of 
New  England,  and  proposals  for  the  adoption  of 
joint  measures  to  restrain  the  fierce  Iroquois  or 
Five  Nations  from  their  constant  depredations 
against  the  whites  of  both  nations  and  against 
the  Christian  missions.  He  was  hospitably  re 
ceived  at  Boston,  and  invited  to  stay,  but,  having 
discharged  his  embassy,  he  hastened  to  return  to 
his  Abnakis,  after  having  received  every  atten 
tion  from  General  Gibbons,  visited  Eliot,  who 
extended  to  him  every  kindness,  and  in  whose 
house,  in  which  a  room  was  provided  for  him 
with  every  provision  for  his  exercise  of  his  devo 


tions,  it  is  not  improbable  that  he  may  have  said 
Mass,  as  the  missionaries  of  those  days  carried 
the  altar-stone  and  other  necessaries  for  saying 
Mass  with  them  across  deserts,  plains,  and  con 
tinents.  Returning  to  the  Kennebec,  he  found 
his  converts  true  to  their  faith.  In  June,  1651, 
he  returned  to  Quebec,  thence  went  on  a  second 
embassy  to  Boston,  and  thereafter  continued  his 
arduous  missionary  labors  among  the  Abnakis. 
The  gospel  fell  on  generous  soil  in  the  souls  of 
the  Abnakis.  Father  Druillettes  in  1656  was 
appointed  with  Father  Garreau  to  found  a  mis 
sion  on  Lake  Superior,  but  when  the  latter  was 
killed  by  the  Iroquois,  even  near  the  very  pre 
cincts  of  Montreal,  that  mission  was  abandoned, 
and  he  again  visited  and  labored  for  the  Abnakis, 
but  in  the  spring  of  1657  ne  was  recalled  to 
Canada.  Another  effort  was  made  in  1659  by 


Overlooking  Montreal. 

the  Jesuits  to  continue  the  Abnaki  mission,  but 
no  permanent  lodgment  was  accomplished.  Many 
of  the  tribe,  however,  kept  faithful  to  their  vows, 
and  many  new  ones  were  converted  by  inviting 
them  to  visit  and  mingle  with  the  Catholic  Algon- 
quins  of  Canada. 

In  1685  the  Abnaki  mission  was  restored  by 
Father  Bigot  on  the  Kennebec,  while  Father 
Thury  established  a  station  on  the  Penobscot,  and 
Father  Simon  another  near  the  mouth  of  the  St. 


HISTORICAL   SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


liii 


John's  River,  and  their  labors,  like  those  of 
Father  Druillettes,  were  prosecuted  in  the  midst 
of  toil,  travel,  hunger,  and  privation.  But  France 
and  England  were  still  struggling  for  the  posses 
sion  of  Northern  Maine ;  the  Indians  on  the  dis 
puted  borders  were  exposed  on  one  side  or  the 
other.  While  the  Abnakis  sided  with  the  French, 
the  cruelties  of  the  war  were  greatly  mitigated 
by  the  presence,  good  advice,  and  devotion  of  the 
Fathers,  who  sometimes  accompanied  them  to  the 
field  as  chaplains.  When  they  attacked  Fort 
Pernquid,  in  1689,  the  warriors  and  their  families 
received  the  Sacraments  before  going  into  battle, 
and  the  Rosary  was  recited  in  unceasing  alterna 
tion.  Among  the  missionaries  of  the  Abnakis 
was  the  illustrious  Father  Sebastian  Rale,  whose 
little  chapel,  in  1695,  was  &t  Norridgewalk,  on 
the  site  of  the  present  Indian  Old  Point,  then  a 
retired  spot  on  the  Kennebec ;  and  the  two 
brothers,  Bigot,  who,  with  nearly  a  dozen  others, 
spent  themselves  with  heroic  love  for  the  salva 
tion  of  souls.  So  great  was  the  faith  of  the  rude 
but  ardent  converts  of  the  wilderness,  that  in 
time  of  pestilence  they  bore  their  sufferings  for 
Christ's  sake,  and  even  crawled  on  their  knees  to 
the  altar,  and  helped  others  to  reach  the  church 
when  not  able  to  stand  or  walk.  The  Fathers 
were  more  than  rewarded  for  their  own  sufferings 
and  hardships  in  the  piety  of  their  flocks. 

But  European  ambition  seemed  destined  to 
ruin  all,  for  at  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth 
century  the  conflict  for  territory  again  led  to  war 
on  our  northern  boundaries.  Emissaries  from 
the  English  colonies  urged  the  Indians  to  expel 
their  French  missionaries  and  accept  Protestant 
ministers,  but  they  indignantly  refused.  The 
missionaries  were  held  responsible  for  this  by  the 
Puritans,  who  especially  hated  Father  Rale,  and 
in  1705  an  expedition  was  sent  purposely  to  cap 
ture  and  kill  him  ;  the  Indians  were  offered  every 
inducement  even  to  betray  their  pastor  and  best 
friend ;  the  mission  was  attacked  in  the  absence  of 
the  warriors,  his  church  destroyed,  and  the  holy 
man  barely  escaped.  A  bark  chapel  replaced  the 
church  on  the  return  of  the  braves,  and  the  work 
of  the  missionary  proceeded,  though  there  was  a 
standing  reward  offered  for  his  head.  In  one  of 
his  arduous  travels  across  the  country  to  reach 
souls,  Father  Rale  fell  and  broke  both  his  legs, 
but  no  sooner  had  he  recovered  than  he  was  again 


laboring  with  his  flock.  Even  the  peace  of 
Utrecht,  in  1713,  gave  no  relief,  for  the  territory 
was  ceded  to  the  English,  who  offered  the  Indians 
to  rebuild  their  church  if  they  would  dismiss 
Father  Rale  and  accept  a  minister  from  Boston. 
Discouraged  by  the  transfer  of  their  country  to 
the  English,  many  Abnakis  emigrated  to  Canada, 
but  the  majority  remained  with  their  pastor,  who, 
in  the  midst  of  hourly  peril,  remained  with  them. 
With  French  aid  the  little  church  of  Norridge 
walk  was  rebuilt.  The  Puritans  started  a  rival 
Protestant  mission  under  Rev.  Mr.  Baxter,  of 
Portsmouth,  but,  shunned  by  the  Indians  and 
silenced  in  discussion  by  Father  Rale,  he  soon 
retired  to  Boston.  No  entreaties  of  his  brethren 
of  the  Society  of  Jesus  or  of  his  Indian  neophytes 
could  induce  Father  Rale  to  provide  for  his 
safety,  because  that  involved  the  abandonment 
of  his  flock.  The  Puritans  had  secured  the  al 
liance  of  the  Mohawks,  one  of  the  Five  Nations, 
and  on  August  23,  1724,  a  small  army  of  English 
and  Indians,  having  reached  the  village  unob 
served,  broke  suddenly  frorn  the  woods  and  at 
tacked  the  peaceful  hamlet  and  the  man  of  prayer, 
who  was  armed  only  with  his  cross.  Destruction 
of  all  was  easy  and  immediate.  Father  Rale, 
the  chief  object  of  the  attack,  fell  a  martyr  at 
the  foot  of  his  mission  cross.  This  was  the  man 
whose  life  the  Puritans  had  long  and  openly 
sought  to  take  as  that  of  a  public  enemy,  guilty 
of  inciting  the  Indians  to  deeds  of  blood  and  of 
every  crime,  and  yet  the  authorities  of  Boston 
had  in  their  possession  a  letter  addressed  to  them 
by  Father  Rale  in  1712,  asking  for  the  earliest 
news  of  peace  between  England  and  France,  as 
he  could  use  the  information  in  arresting  all  acts 
of  Indian  hostility,  as  is  seen  by  the  following 
extract  from  it :  "  Now  this  cannot  be  known  (the 
treaty  of  peace)  in  Canada,  but  you  may  know  i; 
at  Boston,  where  vessels  come  at  all  seasons.  If 
you  know  anything,  I  beseech  you  to  let  me 
know,  that  I  may  instantly  go  to  Quebec,  over 
the  ice,  to  inform  the  Governor,  so  that  he  may 
prevent  the  Indians  from  any  act  of  hostility." 
This  is  the  man  who,  when  besought  by  his  flock 
to  take  measures  for  his  safety  against  these 
same  Puritans,  answered :  "  Your  salvation  is 
dearer  to  me  than  life."  To  his  sanctity  his 
torian  and  poet  have  paid  the  highest  tribute,  and 
a  Puritan  bard,  Whittier,  has  well  sung : 


liv 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


'  And  where  the  house  of  prayer  arose, 
And  the  holy  hymn  at  daylight's  close, 
And  the  aged  priest  stood  up  to  bless 
The  children  of  the  wilderness, 
There  is  naught  but  ashes  sodden  and  dank." 


Disheartened,  many  of  the  Abnakis  fled  to 
Canada,  where  they  devoutly  practised  their  re 
ligion  ;  but  an  effort  was  made  to  restore  the 
mission,  and  in  1730  the  Jesuit  Father  de  Syresrne 
built  a  chapel.  The  Canadian  Abnakis  desired 
to  return,  but  were  opposed  by  the  Canadian  au 
thorities.  After  this  temporary  effort  the  Indians 
of  the  Kennebec  and  Penobscot  visited  Catholic 
missionaries  over  the  Canadian  border  or  were 
visited  by  them,  and  Mass  was  said  secretly  near 
where  Father  Rale  was  martyred.  Father  Ger 
main  continued  the  mission  of  St.  Anne,  on  the 
St.  John's,  and  was  the  last  of  the  old  band  of 
Jesuit  missionaries  of  Maine.  The  present 
Catholic  Indians  of  Maine  are  the  descendants 
of  all  that  remained  of  the  flocks  of  Father  Rale 
and  his  companions. 

The  missions  among  the  Huron  Indians,  re 
plete  with  heroism  and  martyrdom,  were  under 
taken  by  the  Franciscans  or  Recollects  at  first, 
but  chiefly  fell  to  the  glorious  task  of  the  Jesuits. 
Father  Le  Caron,  the  Recollect  sent  by  his 
superiors,  at  the  request  of  the  Hurons  for  a 
black  gown,  in  1615,  accompanying  a  party  of 
French  traders,  was  received  at  the  Huron  village 
of  Carragouha  with  joy.  The  Hurons  were  allies 
of  Champlain  in  his  war  against  the  Five  Nations, 
so  that  Father  Le  Caron,  in  the  absence  of  the 
warriors  in  the  field,  was  earnestly  engaged  in 
studying  their  language  and  planting  the  mis 
sion.  Joined  by  Fathers  Paulain  and  Viel  in 
1622,  the  mission  gained  converts,  and  many  of 
the  Hurons  pitched  their  tents  near  the  Fathers. 
The  mission  ended  in  the  retirement  of  the 
Recollects  from  the  field  and  in  the  death  of 
Father  Viel,  who,  while  descending  to  Three 
Rivers  in  a  canoe,  was  suddenly  thrown  into  the 
last  of  the  foaming  rapids  by  his  Indian  com 
panion  and  drowned,  at  what  is  still  known  as 
the  Recollect's  Rapid.  The  Jesuits  accepted  the 
invitation  of  the  Franciscans  to  undertake  the 
difficult  task  of  instructing  this  stolid  race,  and, 
in  1626,  Fathers  Brebeuf,  Dallion,  and  Noue  en 
tered  upon  the  Huron  mission.  As  one  after 
another  of  the  missionaries  found  the  mission 


disheartening,  the  indomitable  Brebeiif  perse 
vered,  and  gained  the  hearts  of  the  warriors. 
But  all  further  efforts  were  prevented  by  the  fall 
of  Quebec  into  the  hands  of  Captain  Kirk,  and 
the  Fathers  were  recalled  to  France.  In  1633 
three  intrepid  Jesuits,  Fathers  Brebeuf,  Daniel, 
and  Davost,  again  reached  the  Huron  country, 


View  on  the  St.  Lawrence  River. 

after  suffering  every  hardship  and  almost  death 
from  abandonment  by  their  guide.  Erecting  a 
chapel,  planting  a  mission-cross,  learning  the 
Huron  language,  and  incessant  teaching  and 
catechising  the  natives,  while  suffering  from 
hunger,  travel,  fatigue,  and  many  insults  from 
the  capricious  or  the  hostile,  formed  the  daily 
routine  of  the  Fathers.  The  medicine-men  plotted 
their  destruction,  which  was  only  prevented  by 
the  interposition  of  Providence,  moved  by  the 
prayers  of  the  missionaries  and  their  converts. 
Soon  the  heroic  band  was  joined  by  Fathers  Le 
Mercier  and  Pijart ;  the  mission  was  solemnly 
placed  under  the  patronage  of  the  Immaculate 
Virgin,  a  Huron  school  was  founded  at  Quebec, 
the  headquarters  of  the  mission  were  removed  to 
the  fortified  town  of  Ossossane,  and,  in  1636, 
three  Huron  boys  out  of  twelve  selected  for  the 
purpose  were  carried  by  Fathers  Daniel  and  Da 
vost  to  Quebec  for  education ;  the  other  nine 
failed  in  the  necessarv  courage  when  the  time  of 
departure  arrived.  The  journey  to  Quebec  was 
accomplished  under  appalling  hardships ;  the 
Fathers  were  without  shoes  or  more  than  rags 
for  clothes,  and  had  to  paddle  their  own  canoes. 
Brebeuf  and  his  companions  were  joined  soon 
afterwards  by  Fathers  Gamier  and  Chatelain,  and 
afterwards  by  the  saintly  Father  Jogues.  A  pes- 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


lv 


tilence  prostrated  all ;  but  the  Jesuits,  good  doc 
tors  as  well  as  holy  apostles,  nursed  and  cured 
each  other,  and  then  spent  day  and  night  in 
nursing  and  consoling  the  sick  and  dying  Indians. 
So  many  hearts  were  thus  gained  that  the  medi 
cine-men,  mortal  enemies  of  the  Christian  faith, 
rushed  to  the  scene,  and  accused  the  Fathers  of 
causing  the  pestilence ;  most  of  the  cabins  were 
now  closed  against  them,  and  the  Fathers  found 
ample  labor  and  no  little  consolation  in  caring  for 
their  young  converts.  But  the  Jesuits  were 
abandoned  by  all  else,  and  councils  were  held  and 
their  deaths  resolved  upon.  The  intrepid  Bre- 
beuf,  when  the  hour  for  their  execution  arrived, 
stood  up  prepared  to  die  with  his  companions, 
but  ever  ready  to  defend  the  truth  and  the  inno 
cent,  and  by  his  skilful  argument  and  eloquence 
convinced  the  infuriated  braves  of  the  innocence 
of  the  black  gowns.  Fathers  Jogues  and  Pijart, 
confined  at  Ihonatiria  and  Ossossane  by  the 
plague,  were  yet  untiring  in  their  apostolic 
labors.  Several  chiefs  and  many  of  their  people 
received  the  faith  and  baptism  at  their  hands,  and 
Christian  marriage  was  accepted  and  respected 
by  two  of  the  leading  families  of  the  tribe.  In 
1638  Fathers  Jerome  Lalemont,  Simon  Le  Moyne, 
and  Francis  du  Perron  arrived,  after  undergoing 
every  hardship  and  almost  death  in  the  perilous 
journey.  New  missions  were  established.  The 
missionaries  numbered  thirteen,  and  the  order  of 
the  day  at  the  various  missions  included  Mass, 
instructions,  pious  reading,  the  Rosary,  and  even 
ing  prayers.  Fathers  Chaumonot  and  Poncet 
joined  the  apostolic  band.  But  new  sorrows  and 
sufferings  were  in  store  for  all ;  the  smallpox 
broke  out,  the  Fathers  were  accused  of  causing 
it,  their  mission-crosses  were  thrown  down,  the 
Fathers  were  expelled  from  their  cabins,  the 
tomahawk  was  brandished  over  their  heads,  while 
they  instructed,  consoled,  and  prayed;  and, 
though  persecuted  and  ill-treated,  such  were 
their  patience,  courage,  and  sanctity,  that  they 
reached  the  hearts  and  souls  of  many,  and  for 
the  Heavenly  Kingdom  the  missions  yielded  a 
golden  harvest. 

In  the  midst  of  appalling  sufferings  the  Jesuits 
persevered ;  to  the  missions  at  St.  Louis,  St. 
Gabriel,  and  St.  Ignatius  was  added,  in  1639, 
that  of  St.  Mary,  then  those  of  St.  John,  and  in 
1640  more  Jesuits,  Fathers  Charles  Raymbaut 


and  Claude  Pijart,  burning  with  the  desire  of 
sharing  the  sufferings  and  perils  of  their  brethren, 
came  to  evangelize  the  neighboring  tribes  ;  and, 
though  the  daily  danger  of  death,  expulsion  from 
their  homes  and  chapels,  calumny  of  every  kind, 
and  insult  were  their  daily  portion,  they  never 
quailed.  In  1641-42  Fathers  Rayinbaut  and 
Jogues,  crossing  Lake  Huron,  announced  the 
glad  tidings  of  salvation  within  the  limits  of  our 
own  country  to  the  Chippewas  of  Michigan. 

The  saintly  and  fearless  Father  Jogues  in  June, 
1642,  made  the  perilous  journey  through  a  wil 
derness  infested  with  hostile  tribes  of  warriors, 
from  Lake  Huron  to  Canada,  in  order  to  obtain 
the  much-needed  supplies  for  the  Huron  Mission, 
and  to  relieve  his  suffering  brethren.  Accomplish 
ing  his  arduous  task  after  escaping  dangers  at 
every  turn,  with  equal  courage  he  started  on  the 
more  perilous  return,  bringing  the  supplies,  and 
accompanied  by  Rene  Goupil,  a  postulant  of  the 
Society  of  Jesus,  and  a  Frenchman,  William 
Couture,  and  escorted  by  a  band  of  Hurons  under 
the  command  of  the  chief  Ahasistari.  As  the 
flotilla  descended  from  Three  Rivers  they  were 
suddenly  attacked  by  the  fierce  Mohawks,  deadly 
enemies  of  the  Hurons  ;  the  latter  landed  from 
their  canoes  in  confusion,  were  surrounded  and 
overpowered,  and  the  entire  party  fell  into  the 
hands  of  their  merciless  enemies.  Father  Jogues 
had  it  in  his  power  to  escape,  but  a  Jesuit  never 
abandons  his  spiritual  flock.  The  whole  ot  the 
prisoners  were  put  to  the  most  cruel  tortures  and 
suffered  every  humiliation  and  bodily  cruelty. 
Father  Jogues  immediately  became  the  special 
object  of  Mohawk  ferocity ;  his  nails  were  torn 
out,  his  fingers  and  bones  crushed,  and  he,  with 
the  other  prisoners,  were  compelled  to  run  the 
gauntlet  of  ill-treatment  during  the  exhausting 
and  terrible  march  to  the  country  of  the  Mo 
hawks.  On  August  14  Father  Jogues,  after  in 
credible  sufferings,  reached  the  first  Mohawk 
town,  Ossernenon,  on  or  near  the  present  site  of 
the  American  village  or  station  of  Auriesville,  in 
Montgomery  county,  New  York,  where  he  and 
his  unfortunate  companions  were  again  tortured 
and  mutilated.  Father  Jogues  had  his  left  trmmb 
sawed  off,  and  was  then  carried  from  town  to 
town,  receiving  at  each  the  full  measure  of  bar 
baric  torture.  The  Hurons,  with  the  brave  Ahas 
istari  at  their  head,  were  burned  in  the  presence 


Ivi 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


of  Father  Jogues  and  the  other  Frenchmen,  who 
were  reserved  for  further  tortures  and  more  cruel 
deaths.  The  kind-hearted  Dutch,  from  the  set 
tlements  at  West  Orange,  now  Albany,  en 
deavored  in  vain  to  ransom  them ;  Rene  Goupil, 
in  September,  while  reciting  the  Rosary  with 
Father  Jogues,  side  by  side,  was  martyred  by 
having  his  head  cut  open  with  a  tomahawk  by  a 
young  brave,  who  had  seen  him  make  the  sign 
of  the  cross  on  the  forehead  of  a  child ;  and 
Father  Jogues  underwent  a  long  and  tortured  im 
prisonment.  During  all  his  sufferings  and  tor 
tures  he  was  comforting  and  praying  for  the  other 
prisoners  and  instructing  the  gentle  and  the 
young  in  the  beautiful  tenets  of  Christianity. 
Finally,  at  the  solicitation  and  with  the  assist 
ance  of  the  Dutch,  he  made  his  escape  to  Fort 
Orange,  and  thence  in  a  vessel  down  the  Hudson 
River  to  Manhattan,  the  site  of  New  York  city. 
His  kind  friends  at  Manhattan,  chief  among 
whom  were  the  Director  of  the  Dutch  Colony, 
William  Kieft,  and  the  Dutch  minister,  Dominie 
Megapolensis,  secured  him  a  passage  homeward, 
and  after  a  disastrous  voyage,  and  being  driven  on 
the  coast  of  England,  he  reached  France  just  in 
time  for  Christmas.  He  was  joyously  received  by 
his  brethren  of  the  Society,  and  with  every  honor, 
in  palace  and  cabin,  as  a  saint  and  martyr.  The 
Pope  dispensed  him  from  all  canonical  impedi 
ments  for  saying  Mass  on  account  of  his  muti 
lated  hands,  saying  that  "  It  is  not  meet  that  a 
martyr  of  Christ  should  not  be  allowed  to  drink 
the  blood  of  Christ." 

This  holy  confessor  of  the  faith  lingered  not 
in  European  homes,  salons  or  palaces  to  receive 
the  ovations  showered  upon  him ;  the  brother 
and  follower  of  St.  Francis  Xavier  thirsted  for 
the  conversion  of  the  far-off  heathen,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1644  Father  Jogues  was  again  at  Mon 
treal.  In  July  he  acted  as  a  commissioner  of 
peace  between  the  Canadians  and  the  Mohawks 
at  Three  Rivers,  and  in  May,  1646,  he  again  un 
dertook,  in  company  with  John  Bourdon,  the 
dreadful  journey  from  Montreal  to  the  scene  of 
his  former  imprisonment  and  sufferings,  to  ratify 
the  peace  with  the  Mohawk  chiefs.  But  the 
founding  of  a  Mohawk  Mission  was  the  chief 
object  of  his  thoughts  and  inspirations.  He 
again  returned  to  Canada  for  the  mission  outfit, 
and  again  started  for  the  Mohawk  country,  car 


rying  with  him  the  necessary  service  and  imple 
ments  for  the  divine  service.  In  the  meantime 
the  Mohawks  had  resolved  to  renew  the  war  with 
the  French.  This  holy  confessor  of  the  faith  and 
his  companions  were  overtaken  by  a  band  of 
fierce  Mohawks,  then  infesting  the  Canadian 
borders  in  search  of  booty  and  prisoners.  They 
were  seized  and  stripped  of  their  clothes  and 
cruelly  treated,  and  Father  Jogues,  on  October 
19,  1646,  again  entered  Ossernenon  a  prisoner, 
amid  the  jeers  and  blows  of  the  infuriated  sav 
ages,  even  women  and  children  joining  in  his 
persecution.  An  Indian  council  sat  to  decide 
his  fate,  but  a  lawless  Indian,  impatient  of  the 
decision,  ordered  the  Father  to  follow  him,  and 
when  the  gentle  priest  arose  to  follow,  his  mar 
tyrdom  was  completed  by  the  tomahawk  of  the 
warrior,  at  whose  feet  he,  whom  the  Vicar  of 
Christ  had  already  pronounced  a  martyr  of 
Christ,  fell  lifeless.  Father  Jogues  is  venerated 
as  a  saint  in  our  country,  in  Canada,  and  in  Eu 
rope.  The  scene  of  his  glorious  martyrdom  has 
become  in  our  day  a  place  of  pious  pilgrimage. 
The  Jesuits  of  the  American  province  of  the  So 
ciety  have  charge  of  the  station,  and  they,  with 
many  pious  Catholics,  have  erected  there  a  beau 
tiful  shrine  in  honor  of  the  martyrdom  of  Father 
Jogues  and  Rene  Goupil.  The  Third  Plenary 
Council  of  Baltimore,  held  in  November,  1884, 
petitioned  the  Holy  See  for  the  introduction  of 
his  cause  for  canonization  as  a  saint,  and  the 
pious  of  many  lands  are  devoutly  awaiting  the 
result. 

Father  Bressaui  joined  the  perilous  mission 
of  the  Hurons.  Fathers  Brebeuf,  Daniel,  and 
Lalemont  continued  the  work  to  their  own  mar 
tyrdom  in  1649.  The  fierce  Iroquois  from  our 
own  borders  waged  a  war  of  extermination  against 
the  Hurons,  and  with  the  annihilation  of  that 
nation  perished  the  Huron  mission  on  our  bor 
ders,  to  be  continued  among  the  remnants  of  the 
nation  near  Quebec.  But  these  disasters,  through 
the  blood  of  the  martyrs,  planted  the  seed  of  the 
faith  on  the  boundaries  of  Canadian  and  Ameri 
can  territories  and  the  great  lakes,  and  one  of  its 
foremost  missionaries  became  the  holy  martyr 
of  the  Iroquois  mission  within  our  own  bounda 
ries.  Thus  the  missions  of  the  Hurons  and  the 
Iroquois  are  cemented  with  blood,  and  indis- 
solubly  united  in  history. 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


Ivii 


The  introduction  of  the  faith  among  the  Iro- 
quois,  or  Five   Nations,  the  fiercest  of  Indian 
races,  is  nearer  and  dearer  to  us,  since  the  theatre 
of  this  heroic  history  is  laid  wholly  within  the 
proper  boundaries  of  our  own  country,  and  this 
mission  has  given  America  most  glorious  mar 
tyrs  and  probably  its  canonized  saints.     It  has 
already  been  related 
how     an    illustrious 
missionary     of     the 
Hurons,  Father  Isaac 
Jogues,  was  captured 
here   while   carrying 
supplies  to  the  Hxiron 
mission,    and     after 
wards  was    martyred 
by  the  Mohawks  ;  he 
was  the  real  founder 
of  the    Iroquois  mis- 
s  i  o  n  .      Christianity 
and  its  European  and 
Indian       followers 
found    a   friend    and 
protector    on    the 
shores  of  Lake  Onon- 
daga  in  a  pagan  chief- 
tain,     Garaconthie, 
who,  wiser  than    his     The  Cross  at  Fort  st-  An"e.  vt- 
kindred  and  allies,  favored  peace  with  the  French. 
His  gentler  policy  prevailed,  and  in  July,  1661, 
Cayuga  and  Onondaga  warriors  at  the  gates  of 
Montreal  sued  for  the  mission  of  the  black  gowns. 
Religion  and  peace  thus  went  hand-in-hand  to 
gether,  and  a  Jesuit,  Father  Simon  Le  Moyne, 
already  having  been  an  emissary  of  peace  to  the 
smaller  lake  regions,  now  advanced  to  assume 
the  important  and  perilous  mission.     After  nar 
rowly  escaping  death  at  the  hands  of  the  fierce 
Mohawks  on  the  arduous  and  toilsome  way,  he 
reached  Onondaga   and   the   hospitable  hut  of 
Garaconthie,  which  at  once  became  the  Catholic 
shrine  of  the   new  mission.     The  Jesuit  went 
at  once  to  his  exalted  work  :  the  daily  Mass,  the 
Rosary,  the  evening  prayers,  visits  to  the  sick  and 
dying,  and  visits  as  far  as  the  camps  and  castles 
of  the  Senecas,  the  daily  gathering  of  a  pious 
band  of  Indian  Catholics,  and  two  hundred  bap 
tisms  of  dying  infants  and  adults,  attest  the  fruits 
of  his  labors.     Messenger  of  peace,  he  returned 
tc  Canada  in  1662,  carrying  back  to  their  homes 


and  to  freedom  all  the  remaining  French  prison 
ers  in  the  lands  of  the  pagans.  In  1665  the 
Canadian  authorities  erected  the  first  European 
fort  in  the  boundaries  of  our  present  State  of 
Vermont,  Fort  St.  Anne,  and  within  the  fort  the 
first  Christian  altar  and  shrine  of  Christianity 
was  blessed  in  the  Green  Mountain  State. 

Following  the  good  example  of  the  Onondagas, 
the  Mohawk  and  Oneida  tribes,  from  whose  toma 
hawks  a  Frenchman  and  Catholic  priests  had  re 
ceived  their  deaths,  now  made  peace  with  the 
Canadians.  Father  Beschefer  was  sent  to  con 
firm  the  peace  and  announce  the  gospel  of  mercy. 
But,  alas,  unfortunately  for  the  cause  of  peace, 
the  English  had  superseded  the  Dutch  in  New 
Netherlands,  and  the  rival  nations,  France  and 
England,  were  face  to  face.  The  Mohawks,  in 
duced  by  English  presents  and  diplomacy,  broke 
the  peace.  A  French  army  advanced  upon  them 
from  Lake  Champlain,  and  the  victorious  French 
flag,  after  desperate  fighting,  floated  over  the 
Mohawk  castle.  The  first  act  of  the  vanquished 
Mohawks  was  to  ask  for  black  gowns ;  and, 
again,  the  Jesuits,  knowing  no  fear,  advanced 
to  the  scene  of  peril  and  of  suffering.  Fathers 
James  Freimin  and  John  Pierron,  in  July,  1667, 
made  the  deadly  journey  to  the  Mohawks. 
Father  James  Bruyas  went  to  the  Oneidas. 
These  apostolic  men  were  compelled  to  take 
shelter  in  Fort  St.  Anne,  because  the  Mohegans 
were  waylaying  and  endeavoring  to  entrap  their 
Mohawk  escorts.  Availing  themselves  of  this 
detention,  the  Fathers  gave  a  mission  for  the 
benefit  of  the  garrison,  thus  blessing  the  soil 
of  Vermont  by  their  prayers  and  devotions,  and 
leaving  benedictions  behind  them.  They  soon 
resumed  their  journey  to  the  Lakes,  and  arrived 
at  the  town  of  Gandaouoge,  near  the  scene  of 
Father  Jogues'  sufferings  and  death.  Numer 
ous  and  important  conversions  followed  their 
labors,  and  chapels  were  erected  in  the  several 
towns  they  visited  and  evangelized.  Thus  was 
founded  the  Mission  of  St.  Mary  of  the  Mo 
hawks,  while  Father  Freimin  established  the 
Seneca  Mission,  and  Father  Bruyas  founded 
that  of  the  Oneidas,  St.  Francis  Xavier.  Soon 
afterwards  Father  Gamier  came  to  their  aid  and 
commenced  the  glorious  work  at  Onoudaga,  and 
founded  the  Mission  of  St.  John  the  Baptist. 
The  intelligent  and  good  chief,  Garaconthie,  re- 


Iviii 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


ceived  all  the  Black  Gowns  with  the  utmost 
cordiality,  and  provided  them  with  homes  and 
chapels.  In  order  to  cement  and  perpetuate  the 
Church  and  her  work  among  the  allied  nations 
of  the  Mohawk  Valley,  he  organized  an  embassy 
composed  of  members  of  the  most  influential 
families,  headed  it  himself,  and  made  the  jour 
ney  to  Quebec.  Arriving  before  the  Governor 
at  Quebec,  this  remarkable  man  delivered  a 
speech  full  of  noble  sentiments  and  fervid  elo 
quence,  and  concluded  by  asking  for  two  more 
missionaries  for  the  Indian  cantons.  The  Gov 
ernor,  in  his  reply,  gave  great  praise  to  Garacon 
thie  for  his  honorable  course,  his  saving  the  lives 
of  so  many  of  the  French,  and  for  his  kindness 
to  the  missionaries ;  and,  granting  his  request 
for  two  more  missionaries,  Fathers  Stephen  de 
Carheil  and  Peter  Milet  returned  to  the  Mohawk 
with  the  ambassadors.  Received  with  joy,  the 
new  Fathers  at  once  commenced  their  apostolic 
work.  An  Iroquois,  from  Oneida,  exclaimed,  on 
hearing  that  the  Black  Gowns  were  coming, 
"Joy,  joy,  forever;  he  will  open  the  gate  of 
Heaven,  at  which  I  have  been  so  long  knock 
ing  ! "  Similar  instances  of  faith  greeted  them 
on  all  sides.  Leaving  Father  Milet  at  Onon- 
daga,  Father  Garnier  carried  Father  de  Carheil 
and  installed  him  as  pastor  among  the  Cayugas, 
whom  they  found,  at  the  very  moment  of  their 
arrival,  indulging,  with  cannibal  ferocity  and 
superstitious  ceremonies,  in  eating  a  young 
Coriestogue  girl  to  please  their  own  deity.  Yet 
they  received  the  missionaries  cordially.  A 
chapel  was  erected,  which  Father  de  Carheil 
dedicated  to  St.  Joseph,  and  the  good  work  was 
commenced.  So,  too,  Father  Freimin  proceeded 
to  the  most  western  of  the  allied  Five  Nations, 
the  Senecas,  among  whom  there  were  already 
a  number  of  Christians,  announced  the  word, 
erected  a  chapel,  and  commenced  hearing  the 
confessions  of  the  adults  and  baptizing  Christian 
children.  The  Indian  tribes  of  North  America, 
like  their  more  civilized  brethren  of  Caucasian 
blood,  indulged  in  the  barbarous  practice  of  war, 
scourge  of  the  human  race ;  and  hence  scarcely 
a  central  Indian  town  that  did  not  contain  a 
number  of  prisoners  of  war,  and  these  were 
treated  with  the  most  barbaric  cruelty.  With 
the  warlike  and  fierce  Iroquois,  this  was  emi 
nently  the  case.  Hence  the  Catholic  mission 


aries  among  the  Five  Nations  had  ample  field 
for  the  most  exalted  Christian  virtues  of  charity, 
for  imparting  the  hopes  and  consolations  of  reli 
gion,  and  for  intercession  for  the  lives  and  liber 
ties  of  the  captives.  Another  pious  work  of  the 
missionaries  consisted  in  the  most  arduous  la 
bors  to  check  or  prevent  the  spread  of  intemper 
ance  among  the  Indians — a  vice  for  which  they 
were  indebted  to  their  European  conquerors,  and 
which  the  licensed  traders  avariciously  propa 
gated.  Not  only  did  the  Jesuits  resist  the  traffic 
in  fire-water,  as  the  Indians  appropriately  called 
it,  from  French  sources,  but  Father  Pierron  and 
the  Mohawk  chiefs  solicited  Governor  Lovelace, 
of  New  York,  to  restrain  this  demoralizing  traffic. 
The  opening  and  blessing  of  Father  Freimin's 
little  chapel,  in  November,  1868,  among  the  Sen 
ecas,  was  an  auspicious  event,  and  now  there 
were  missions  and  chapels  in  every  one  of  the 
five  allied  nations.  While  many  converts  were 
made  among  the  people  the  proud  chiefs  of  the 
Iroquois,  though  admiring  the  pure  and  exalted 
Gospel  of  Christ,  did  not  embrace  His  faith ;  but 
the  remarkable  and  exceptional  case  of  the  noble 
chief,  Garaconthie,  who  openly  embraced  the 
faith  and  went  to  Quebec,  where  the  illustrious 
Bishop  Laval  himself  baptized  and  then  confirmed 
him  in  the  cathedral,  in  the  presence  of  numerous 
Canadian  officials  and  Indian  chiefs  of  every 
tribe,  the  Governor  and  the  wife  of  the  Intendant 
acting  as  his  sponsors,  gave  consolation  to  the 
young  and  struggling  Church  of  America,  and 
strengthened  the  cause  of  truth  and  morality. 
Returning  with  great  pomp  and  rejoicing  to  the 
Mohawk,  the  Christian  chief  turned  the  scales 
in  favor  of  Christianity  in  the  bitter  struggle 
then  raging  between  the  missionaries  and  the 
supporters  of  heathen  superstitions.  The  public 
councils  of  the  nation  at  Oneida,  after  a  stormy 
debate,  in  which  Garaconthie  took  an  exalted 
part,  rejected  the  false  gods  of  the  country  and 
accepted  the  true  God ;  belts  of  wampum,  em 
blems  of  peace  and  ratification,  were  exchanged 
between  the  missionaries  and  the  chiefs  of  the 
nation.  A  solemn  public  service  was  held  by 
Father  Milet  at  Onondaga,  a  feast  was  given,  a 
highly  decorated  altar  was  raised,  above  which 
the  cross  and  other  emblems  of  Christianity 
were  exalted  high,  while  beneath  and  on  the 
ground  were  placed  the  symbols  of  heathenism. 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


lix 


His  sermon,  preached  in  the  Indian  language, 
was  a  masterpiece,  which  made  a  profound  im 
pression,  and  secured  in  future,  for  audiences 
of  the  Fathers,  assemblies  in  which  chiefs  and 
leading  men  and  their  families  were  numerous 
and  conspicuous. 

In  the  midst  of  consolations,  and  yet  with  fre 
quent  reverses,  the  Church  in  the  Mohawk  made 
some  progress.  The  persecutions  of  Christian 
converts  by  medicine-men,  and  the  direful  effect 
of  fire-water  introduced  by  both  French  and 
English  traders,  proved  severe  trials  to  the  set 
tlers.  The  active  and  influential  chiefs  and  peo 
ple  were  still  heathen,  and  yet  even  with  them 
Christianity  received  respect.  The  growing 
interests  of  religion  in  the  Valley  of  the  Mohawk 
called  for  concerted  action  of  the  Fathers,  and  in 
August,  1670,  the  missionaries  held  a  conference 
of  six  days  at  Onondaga,  which  was  attended  by 
Fathers  Freimin  from  Seneca,  Carheil  from  Ca- 
yuga,  Bruyas  from  Oneida,  Pierron  from  the 
Mohawk,  and  Milet  from  Onondaga.  Conflicts 
between  the  French  and  Indians  in  the  vast 
prairies  and  forests,  and  the  deaths  that  resulted, 
frequently  exasperated  the  Indians,  and  one  of 
these  occurrences,  in  1670,  brought  the  blade 
of  an  infuriated  and  drunken  Indian  near  the 
heart  of  Father  Gamier,  as  he  journeyed  to  his 
Seneca  mission.  The  courage  of  this  noble 
apostle  never  failed  him.  Having  braved  the 
fury  of  the  beastly  heathen  with  unflinching 
coolness,  he  proceeded  to  his  cabin  at  Gandach- 
ioragon.  We  immediately  afterwards  see  him 
studiously  acquiring  the  Seneca  language,  pre 
paring  a  Seneca  grammar  and  dictionary,  found 
ing  the  Mission  of  the  Immaculate  Conception, 
and  building  new  chapels.  The  open  conversion 
of  the  great  and  wily  chief  of  the  Cayugas, 
Saonchiogwa,  after  many  misgivings  of  the 
Fathers,  was  an  important  event.  He  too  went 
to  Quebec  and  received  baptism  from  the  hands 
of  the  saintly  Bishop  Laval,  Talon  the  Intendant 
acting  as  sponsor,  and  then,  as  if  to  represent 
the  union  of  Christians  the  once  hostile  Huron, 
Algonquin  and  Iroquois  sat  and  feasted  together 
after  the  ceremony.  He  became  a  champion  of 
the  faith ;  reproached  the  Protestant  Albanians 
for  their  irreverence  and  scoffing  at  the  rosary, 
crucifix  and  other  Christian  emblems  he  wore, 
and  prevented  in  the  tribe  the  repetition  of  the 


annual  orgies  of  heathenism  known  as  the  feast 
of  Onnanhauroia. 

In  the  midst  of  Indian  fickleness,  drunkenness, 
and  the  orgies  and  machinations  of  the  medicine 
men,  the  faith  had  a  precarious  hold  on  the 


The  Primitive  Wilderness 

chiefs  and  people  of  the  Five  Nations.  Fathers 
Lamberville,  Raffeix,  and  Boniface  recruited  the 
apostolic  band.  At  one  time  every  calumny  was 
heaped  upon  the  Fathers  by  their  enemies ;  at 
another  some  open  apostacy  discouraged  them, 
and  at  another  Indian  wars  broke  off  intercourse 
and  paralyzed  their  labors.  A  notable  conversion, 
now  and  then,  gave  them  a  gleam  of  sunshine. 
The  old  Mohawk  chief,  Assendase,  after  having 
for  so  many  years  been  the  chief  supporter  of 
the  prevailing  heathenism,  the  leading  medicine 
man,  and  tricky  diplomatist,  at  last  piously  em 
braced  the  faith  with  all  his  family,  and  clung 
to  it  firmly  through  sickness  and  misfortune. 
On  the  other  hand,  his  conversion  aroused  the 
worst  passions  of  the  heathens,  and  one  of  his 
own  relatives,  in  a  fit  of  rage  and  intoxication, 
snatched  the  rosary  and  crucifix  from  the  aged 
chieftain's  neck  and  threatened  to  kill  him.  The 
old  Christian  proved  his  constancy  and  fervor: 
"  Kill  me,"  he  said  ;  "  I  shall  be  happy  to  die  in 
so  good  a  cause ;  I  shall  not  regret  my  life  if  I 
give  it  in  testimony  of  my  faith."  And  soon 


Ix 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


afterwards  the  death  of  the  pious  Christian  chief, 
Assendase,  who  died  in  1675,  with  heroic  faith 
and  piety,  was  a  severe  blow  to  the  Mohawk 
mission.  But  again,  and  realizing  the  brighter 
side  of  the  picture,  it  was  about  this  time  that 
Father  Lamberville  had  the  inexpressible  conso- 
•  lation  of  finding  the  greatest  jewel  and  most 
priceless  soul  the  missions  had  produced.  This 
was  the  pure,  the  pious,  the  humble  Indian  girl, 
the  saintly  Catherine  Tegakouita. 

While  longing  for  the  delights  of  the  Chris 
tian  faith,  Catherine's  humility  caused  her  to 
shrink  from  even  speaking  to  the  priest,  but  the 
quick  and  ascetic  soul  of  Father  Lamberville  im 
mediately  saw  her  exalted  piety,  her  purity,  her 
love  of  God.  Invited  to  attend  the  Christian 
instructions  at  Gandaouoge,  this  noble  soul 
responded  to  every  grace,  and  on  Easter  Sunday, 
1675,  she  received  baptism  with  every  mark  of 
profound  devotion  and  heroic  faith.  This  new 
and  devout  neophyte  soon  became  a  confessor  of 
the  faith.  Refusing  to  go  into  the  fields  with 
her  companions  to  work  on  the  Lord's  day,  she 
was  refused  by  her  relatives  all  food  and  was  left 
to  starve.  Hunger,  privation  of  every  kind, 
taunts,  insults  and  premeditated  temptations 
she  bore  with  saintly  resignation  and  firmness. 
All  offers  of  marriage  she  refused  and  consecrated 
herself  to  a  life  of  virginity.  In  the  Indian 
towns  and  castles  she  bore  the  exalted  title  of 
"  the  Christian  woman,"  as  she  is  now  known  in 
history  as  the  "  Lily  of  the  Mohawk."  Several 
times  the  crown  of  martyrdom  was  suspended 
over  her  head.  She  did  not  shrink  from  it,  but 
Providence  preserved  her  for  longer  edification  in 
the  Church.  Often  urged  by  her  spiritual  guide 
to  fly  to  Canada,  where  she  could  pray  and  serve 
in  safety,  her  only  reason  for  declining  or  de 
laying  was  the  fear  that  her  flight  might  endanger 
the  lives  of  others.  Her  situation  finally  became 
intolerable,  and  yielding  to  the  advice  of  her 
Father  in  Christ,  and  while  pursued  by  the  mur 
derous  uncle,  who  was  her  legal  guardian,  she 
effected  her  escape  in  the  autumn  of  1677  to 
La  Prairie,  where  her  virtues  and  sanctity  in 
creased,  and  have  become  a  rich  and  glorious 
inheritance  of  our  Church.  God  was  the  sub 
ject  of  her  constant  contemplation,  toil  and 
recollection  her  joy.  While  not  laboring  in  the 
field  or  felling  trees,  the  little  bark  chapel  was 


her  daily  resort  and  her  home,  though  she  es 
teemed  herself  unworthy  to  enter  it  or  even  to 
be  driven  from  it.  Penance,  the  spontaneous 
fragrance  of  a  soul  not  needing  penance,  was  her 
consolation.  Enrolled  as  a  member  of  the  Con 
fraternity  of  the  Holy  Family,  she  imitated  the 
life  of  Jesus,  Mary  and  Joseph.  She  made  at  her 
hut  a  little  oratory,  where  she  could  pray  at  night 
or  when  she  could  not  go  to  church.  Receiving 
finally  public  veneration  from  all,  her  humility 
was  only  increased  ;  in  a  hunting  party  her  life 
was  one  of  spirituality,  but  she  clung  to  her 
home,  where  she  could  pay  daily  visits  to  the 
Blessed  Sacrament.  When  her  health  failed  she 
crawled  to  the  chapel  to  visit  her  Lord,  and 
finally,  unable  to  do  this,  her  little  hut  became 
her  chapel  and  altar.  In  the  midst  of  the  tur 
moil  and  giddiness  of  Indian  life  she  was  a  true 
religious,  and  practiced  the  virtues  of  chastity, 
poverty  and  obedience.  Her  cabin  in  the  spring 
of  1680  was  visited  by  crowds  coming  to  venerate 
the  pious  virgin.  She  received  the  last  sacra 
ment  from  the  hands  of  Father  Freimin  with 


Tomb  of  an  Early  Indian  Convert  on  the  Ottawa  River. 

seraphic  love,  and  as  she  expired  in  Holy  Week 
of  that  year,  the  red  men  of  every  tribe  and  the 
white  men  of  Canada  came  to  kiss  her  hands 
and  venerate  her  remains.  Canada  and  America 
were  filled  with  the  renown  of  her  sanctity. 
Miracles  have  been  attributed  to  her  intercession. 
Her  canonization  as  a  saint  has  been  solicited, 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


Ixi 


together  with  that  of  the  saintly  Father  Jaques 
and  the  devout  Rene  Goupil,  martyrs  of  the  faith. 
In  the  flock  of  Father  Bruyas  at  Oneida  was 
another  female  convert,  Ganneaktena,  venerated 
for  her  purity,  her  modesty,  her  gentleness,  and 
a  life  of  all  the  Christian  virtues,  aiding  the 
missionaries  in  the  study  of  the  Indian  language, 
bearing  unceasing  persecution  for  the  faith  from 
her  family;  making  the  journey  to  Quebec  in 
the  interests  of  her  own  soul  and  of  the  Chris 
tian  religion,  where  she  was  received  and  baptized 
by  Bishop  Laval,  she  led  by  her  example  her 
persecutors  into  the  Church,  and  she  became  the 
foundress  of  a  new  Christian  village  on  the  St. 
Lawrence,  in  which  many  exalted  examples  of 
Christian  virtue  and  of  holy  lives  would  prove 
worthy  of  older  Christian  communities.  Father 
Freimin  labored  with  untiring  zeal  in  seven 
Mohawk  towns,  speaking  their  language,  and 
accomplishing  immense  good ;  while  Father 
Pierron  in  the  midst  of  the  Mohegan-Mohawk 
war  himself  warred  against  heathenism  and  in 
temperance  ;  and  finding  the  mission  of  seven 
towns  beyond  his  time  and  strength,  was  joined 
in  the  arduous  field  by  Father  Boniface.  All 
the  Mohawk  towns  seemed  like  Christian  com 
munities,  so  regular  and  edifying  were  the  daily 
observance  of  religious  services,  and  the  family 
devotions  in  the  cabins  ;  and  schools  were  estab 
lished  for  the  education  of  the  young.  It  was 
a  sublime  sight  to  see  the  aged  and  often  infirm 
priests  standing  up  in  the  councils  of  those  grim 
warriors  to  plead  in  barbaric  dialects  the  cause 
of  Christ,  and  though  often  opposed  by  the  elo 
quence  of  heathen  sachems  and  the  machina 
tions  of  the  medicine-men,  the  cause  of  truth 
triumphed.  Even  the  medicine-men  sometimes 
yielded  to  the  grace  of  conversion,  the  rites  of 
heathen  worship  ceased,  and  the  labors  of  the 
Fathers  became  so  arduous  with  their  increasing 
flocks,  that  new  laborers,  Fathers  Beschefer 
and  Nicolas,  came  to  share  their  apostolic  toils. 
The  piety  of  the  Mohawk  women  was  most 
edifying  even  amid  the  taunts  of  the  Protestant 
English  at  Albany,  and  one  is  mentioned  in  the 
annals  of  the  mission,  who,  refusing  to  remove 
her  beads  and  crucifix  at  the  taunts  of  the 
whites,  went  into  their  assembly  and  publicly 
recited  the  rosary.  The  converts  seemed  ready 
to  die  for  their  faith. 


The  Oneida  mission  was  not  so  consoling  to 
the  brave  Father  Bruyas,  where  wars  between 
hostile  tribes  and  intemperance  of  the  Indians 
sometimes  drove  him  into  some  place  of  retire 
ment;  but  in  1671,  when  appointed  superior  of 
the  Iroquois  missions,  he  placed  Father  Milet 
among  the  Oneidas,  and  took  up  his  head 
quarters  at  the  Mohawk.  It  was  no  uncommon 
thing  for  the  Fathers  to  see  regular  Christian 
congregations  formed  among  those  fierce  war 
riors,  and  the  most  important  devotions  of  the 
Church,  Mass  and  rosary,  regularly  attended. 
Indian  fervor  was  followed  by  gratitude  to  their 
benefactors,  and  no  wonder  the  Onondagas  be 
stowed  upon  one  of  the  Fathers,  the  zealous 
Milet,  the  name  of  Teharonhiagannra  which 
meant  "  The  one  who  looks  up  to  Heaven."  Ven 
erated  by  the  mass  of  the  people,  as  the  Fathers 
were,  the  medicine-men  quailed  before  the  in 
domitable  courage  of  Father  Milet  and  his  com 
panions.  It  was  thus  that  the  numerous  mis 
sions  of  the  Jesuits  among  the  Oneidas,  the 
Onondagas,  the  Cayugas,  the  Mohawks,  and  the 
Senecas  were  well  established,  and  accomplished 
much  good.  But  for  the  political  and  military 
movements,  ambitions  and  enterprises  of  the 
English  and  French  rival  nations  on  our 
frontiers,  there  seems  no  reason  why  these 
Indian  tribes  should  not  have  been  Christianized, 
civilized  and  preserved  permanently  instead  of 
finally  destroyed.  But  Indian  wars  and  chiefly 
the  wars  between  the  English  and  the  French, 
in  which  the  Indians  took  part  on  one  side  or 
the  other,  broke  up  the  missions  one  by  one, 
and  scattered  the  missionaries.  Onondaga  was 
the  only  living  mission  left  on  the  Mohawk. 

In  1682,  while  the  French  had  been  strug 
gling  for  the  alliance  or  conquest  of  the  Five 
Nations,  a  Catholic,  Thomas  Dongan,  an  Irish 
man,  a  man  of  ability  and  energy  and  a  strong 
supporter  of  English  supremacy  in  America, 
was  appointed  Governor  of  New  York  by  James 
the  Duke  of  York,  and  the  Five  Nations  were 
within  the  territories  claimed  by  that  State  and 
claimed  also  by  France.  The  English  aimed  at 
keeping  the  French  north  of  the  Great  Lakes, 
and  as  the  Jesuit  missionaries,  to  whom  the 
Indians  were  greatly  attached,  were,  by  the 
necessities  of  their  situation,  as  well  as  by  birth, 
by  their  own  appointing  power  and  missionary 


Ixii 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


system,  a  part  of  the  French  movement,  it  be 
came  a  special  effort  of  Governor  Dongan  to 
have  the  Five  Nations  dismiss  the  French  mis 
sionaries  and  accept  English  Jesuits  in  their 
place.  Father  Thomas  Harvey,  of  the  English 
Province  of  the  Society,  arrived  in  New  York 
city,  then  Manhattan,  in  August,  1683 ;  was 
joined  there  soon  afterwards  by  Fathers  Henry 
Harrison  and  Charles  Gage  and  two  lay 
brothers.  A  chapel  was  erected  at  Fort  James, 
south  of  Bowling  Green,  and  a  Latin  school  was 
opened,  which  was  attended  by  the  sons  of  some 
of  the  leading  citizens.  Governor  Dongan  con 
vened  the  Legislature  in  October,  1683,  and  a  Bill 


The  Great  Plains. 

of  Rights  and  an  act  of  religious  toleration  were 
enacted.  The  same  Governor  Dongaii,  in  his 
zeal  for  his  English  employers,  endeavored  to 
get  possession  of  Father  James  de  Lamberville. 
The  Indian  chiefs  of  Onondaga  stood  by  their 
Fathers,  and  although  their  country  was  ravaged 
alternately  by  French  and  English  military  ex 
peditions,  Jesuit  and  flock  stood  firm  at  their 
posts.  Father  John  de  Lamberville  joined  his 
brother,  and  the  two  Jesuits  continued  the  mis 
sion  in  the  midst  of  a  succession  of  the  most 
appalling  dangers.  But  the  mission  was  to  be 
destroyed;  the  intrigues  of  French  and  Eng 
lish  distracted  the  Indians.  Father  James  de 


Lamberville  having  been  compelled  first  to  re 
tire,  his  noble  brother  stood  alone  at  Onondaga, 
and  he  finally,  in  the  midst  of  treacheries, 
dangers  and  disasters,  was  forced  by  a  secret  route 
to  make  his  escape  to  Canada.  In  the  mean 
time  the  reign  of  James  II.  was  closed  by  his 
overthrow  in  England,  and  the  proclamation  of 
William  Prince  of  Orange.  Leister,  the  fanat 
ical  leader  of  the  Revolution  in  New  York,  drove 
out  Governor  Dongan  and  the  Jesuit  Fathers 
Harvey  and  Harrison,  who  barely  escaped  his 
grasp.  The  last  Catholic  chapel  among  the 
Iroquois  and  also  the  first  in  New  York  city 
were  then  closed  almost  simultaneously.  The 
flock  that  assembled  in  New  York  city  must 
have  been  a  mere  handful,  compared  to  the  more 
numerous  congregations  that  assembled  in  the 
bark  chapels  on  the  banks  of  the  Mohawk,  for 
we  have  an  official  report  of  the  names  of  all  the 
Catholics  in  the  city,  in  1696,  a  few  years  after 
the  foregoing  events  were  transacted,  showing 
their  number  to  be  ten. 

The  intrepid,  ambitious  and  adventurous  Cava 
lier  de  la  Salle,  more  loyal  to  his  king  than  to 
his  God,  undertook  the  great  work  of  exploring 
the  West  and  the  great  river  and  valley  of  the 
Mississippi.  Actuated  by  the  purer  motive  of 
saving  souls,  the  Sulpitians  entered  upon  the 
same  arduous  task.  On  July  6,  1669,  La  Salle 
and  the  Sulpitians,  Rev.  Francis  Dollier  de  Cas- 
son  and  Rev.  Rene  de  Brehaut  de  Galinee,  the 
latter  being  only  a  deacon,  started  from  Montreal. 
Unable  to  get  a  guide  from  the  Iroquois,  cross 
ing  the  Niagara  River  below  the  Falls,  finally  ob 
taining  two  Indian  guides  from  a  village  near  the 
head  of  Lake  Ontario,  they  proceeded  westward. 
Having  met  Louis  Jolliet,  on  his  route  from  the 
copper  mines  of  Lake  Superior,  he  recommended 
them  to  adopt  the  route  of  Green  Bay  and  the 
Wisconsin.  La  Salle  abandoned  the  party  on 
the  pretext  of  illness,  and  returned  to  Montreal. 
The  Sulpitians,  after  enduring  every  hardship, 
losing  their  chapel  outfit  and  their  means  of 
offering  the  Holy  Sacrifice,  finally  reached  the 
Jesuit  station  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  where  they 
were  hospitably  received  by  the  apostolic  Father 
Dablon  and  the  illustrious  Father  Marquette. 
Realizing  the  impossibility  of  proceeding  on  so 
vast  and  difficult  an  undertaking,  the  Sulpitians 
returned  to  Montreal. 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


Ixiii 


The  Jesuits  had  long  contemplated  an  expedi 
tion  to  the  Illinois.     Father  Marquette  had  been 


\\1, 


Father  Heniiepin  at  Niagara. 

studying   the   western    languages,   of 
which  he  had  acquired  seven,  and  he 
was  in  every  respect  the  man  for  this 
great  and  perilous  task.     In  1672  the 
French    Government   at   last    ordered 
the  organization  of  an  expedition,  and 
placed  it  under   the  experienced  and 
trusty  traveller,  the  Sieur  Jolliet,  the 
scope  of  his  adventure  embracing  not 
only  the  discovery  and  exploration  of 
the   Mississippi    River,   but   also    the 
South  Sea,  by  which  was   meant  the 
Pacific  Ocean.       Jolliet   proceeded   at 
once    to    Sault    Ste.    Marie    and    saw 
Father  Marquette,  and  soon  the  neces 
sary  permission  from  the  superiors  of 
the    Jesuits    was    obtained,    and    the 
expedition  and  its  contemplated   mis 
sions  were  called  by  the  name  of  the 
Immaculate  Conception.     On  May  17, 
1673,  the  Sieur  and  the  Jesuit,  with 
five   Indians,    in  two  canoes,  with  no 
provisions  but  some  Indian  corn  and 
dried  meat,  started  from  Michilimack- 
inac,    followed   the   west    shore   of  Lake 


made  the  portage  to  the  Wisconsin  River  with 
the  aid  of  two  Miamis  obtained  at  the  town 
of  the  Maskoutens,  and,  undaunted  by  the 
evil  predictions  and  gloomy  accounts  of  the 
Indians,  proceeded  in  their  canoes  through  the 
dim  wilderness,  awakening  its  only  echoes  by 
the  joyous  recital  of  invocations  of  the  Immacu 
late  Virgin.  On  the  I7th  of  June,  1673,  those 
two  illustrious  men,  Jolliet  and  Marquette,  after 
enduring  hunger,  fatigue,  hardship  and  danger, 
in  the  midst  of  profound  silence  only  broken 
by  their  own  prayers,  saw  and  entered  the  Missis 
sippi  River ! 

How  grand  must  have  been  the  thoughts  of 
these  two  brave  and  undaunted  men  in  achieving 
this  great  event,  so  long  desired !  Both  contem 
plated  vast  future  empires.  The  Sieur  thought 
of  the  immense  regions  of  the  earth  brought 
within  the  power  of  the  King  of  France  :  regions 
which  are  now  the  seat  of  populous  and  wealthy 
States,  now  members  of  the  American  Union. 
The  other,  the  Jesuit,  thought  of  numerous  tribes 
of  his  fellow-men,  to  whom  the  fruits  of  Divine 


Mich 


igan,  entered  Green  Bay,  ascended  Fire  River, 


Father  Marquette  avoiding  the  Rapids. 

Redemption  could  now  be  applied,  and  of  vast  ter 
ritories  now  to  be  added  to  the  realm  of  Christen- 


Ixiv 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


dom  :  territories,  where  now  are  seen  many  nour 
ishing  Dioceses  of  the  Catholic  Church,  with  prel 
ates  and  priests,  cathedrals  and  churches,  with 
dense  congregations  of  devout  worshippers ;  but, 
alas !  the  Indian  tribes  have  disappeared  from 
the  face  of  the  land  they  owned  and  loved ! 

Turning  their  canoes  southward,  the  two  noble 
voyagers  travelled  eight  days  before  they  met 
sign  of  human  life.  Then  to  the  Illinois  of  Peo- 
ria  and  Moingona,  by  whom  they  were  joyously 
received,  Father  Marquette  announced  the  first 
words  of  the  Gospel ;  urged  to  stay,  he  promised 


Fl 
i  \ 


Father  Marquette,  true  to  his  promise  to  return 
and  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  Indians,  started  in 
November,  1674,  for  the  Kaskaskias,  but  was 
stricken  down  with  an  old  disease;  in  March, 
1675,  feeling  new  strength,  he  resumed  his  sub 
lime  purpose  and  journey,  and  succeeded  in  reach 
ing  the  Kaskaskias  and  starting  the  mission, 
celebrating  the  first  Mass  in  Illinois.  Again 
prostrated  by  disease,  he  was  forced  to  set  out  for 
Michilimackinac,  reached  Lake  Michigan,  and 
while  his  companions  were  plying  their  paddles 
with  power  in  order  to  reach  his  old  Ottawa 


The  Death  of  Father  Marquette. 


to  return  next  year  and  abide  with  them.  Pass 
ing  the  famous  Painted  Rocks  near  Piesa,  then 
the  mouth  of  Missouri  River,  the  mouth  of  the 
Ohio  River,  the  Arkansas  River  and  the  country 
of  the  Arkansas  Indians,  announcing  the  Re 
demption  of  man  through  Christ  wherever  they 
met  the  Indians,  the  explorers,  on  July  17,  re 
versed  their  paddles  and  returned  northward, 
having  solved  one  of  the  greatest  physical  prob 
lems  of  this  continent  then  unknown  to  mankind, 
that  the  Mississippi  River  empties  into  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico. 


Mission,  they  were  forced  to  land  and  assist  the 
great  apostle  to  die.  With  the  most  pious  and 
heroic  sentiments  Father  Marquette  died  May  19, 
1675,  in  the  wilderness  he  loved  so  much. 

The  ambition  of  La  Salle  was  fired  by  the 
great  discovery  of  Jolliet  and  Marquette.  Fort 
Frontinac  was  built  in  July,  1673,  near  the  pres 
ent  Canadian  city  of  Kingston.  Hostile  to 
Bishop,  regular  clergy  and  Jesuits,  La  Salle  se 
lected  the  Recollect  Fathers  for  his  chaplains, 
and  among  these  were  Fathers  Gabriel  de  la  Ri- 
bourde,  Zenobrius  Membre,  Louis  Hennepin, 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


Ixv 


Luke  Bouisson,  and  Melithon  Watteaux.  In 
December,  1673,  Father  Hennepin  reached  the 
outlet  of  the  Niagara  River,  and,  ascending  to  the 
rock,  now  known  as  Hennepin's  Rock,  he  discov 
ered  Niagara  Falls,  and  gave  the  first  description 


Niagara  Falls,  as  first  seen  by  Father  Hennepin. 

of  it  to  the  world.  La  Motte,  the  commander  of 
this  part  of  the  movement,  built  Fort  de  Cortez 
and  Father  Hennepin  said  the  first  Mass  on  the 
Niagara.  A  grant  of  land  to  the  Recollects  from 
La  Salle  was  here  the  first  ecclesiastical  property, 
the  title  of  which  was  acquired  by  the  Catholic 
Church  in  New  York  State,  and  Father  Watteaux 


was  the  first  regular  pastor.  La  Salle  now  at 
tempted  the  descent  of  the  Mississippi.  At  the 
mouth  of  St.  Joseph's  River  he  erected  a  fort  and 
the  Recollect  Fathers  a  chapel,  the  first  Catholic 
Church  in  the  lower  peninsula  of  Michigan. 
Fort  Crevecceur  was  built  not  far  below  Peoria, 
now  the  seat  of  a  flourishing  American  Diocese, 
and  here  Mass  was  said  with  new  wine  expressed 
by  the  Fathers  from  the  wild  grapes  of  the  country. 
From  this  point  La  Salle  sent  Father  Hennepin 
and  two  of  his  men  back  to  Fort  Niagara  for  re 
lief,  in  consequence  of  his  not  having  received 
the  expected  supplies.  Father  Hennepin  de 
scended  the  Illinois  River  to  its  mouth  ;  he  was  in 
April  captured  by  a  band  of  Sioux  and  carried  to 
their  country,  where  this  ever  observant  and  ac 
tive  Recollect  availed  himself  of  his  opportuni 
ties,  saw  and  named  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony, 
and  announced  the  first  words  of  the  Gospel  to 
the  fierce  Dakotas.  The  party  was  finally  res 
cued  from  the  hands  of  the  Sioux  by  du  Shut. 

At  Fort  Crevecceur  Father  Membre  labored  to 
acquire  the  Illinois  language  and  instruct  the 
Indians  in  Christian  doctrine,  but  found  both 
tasks  most  difficult.  Tonty,  the  faithful  lieu 
tenant  of  La  Salle,  was  left  in  command  of  the 
fort,  and  was  soon  afterwards  abandoned  in  the 
wilderness  by  the  Frenchmen  forming  the  gar 
rison,  and  the  venerable  Father  de  la  Ribourde 
was  compelled  to  accept  adoption  by  an  Indian 
chief,  and  endure  all  the  discomfort,  hardship, 
filth  and  uproar  of  Indian  life.  The  two  mis 
sionaries  had  to  wait  for  the  ripening  of  the  wild 
grapes  in  the  fall  before  they  could  say  Mass ; 
they  accompanied  hunting  parties  ;  attacked  by 
the  Iroquois,  the  Illinois  fled  from  the  land,  and 
the  two  missionaries,  with  Tonty,  started  to  make 
their  escape  to  Green  Bay ;  Father  Ribourde,  re 
citing  his  breviary  in  a  retired  spot,  while  Father 
Membre  and  Tonty  were  repairing  their  canoe, 
was  seized  by  a  party  of  Kickapoos,  robbed  and 
murdered  on  the  spot,  being  then  in  his  seven 
tieth  year.  Father  Membre,  after  incredible 
hardships,  reached  Green  Bay,  and  was  hospi 
tably  received  by  the  Jesuits  of  that  mission. 
Father  Membre  again  descended  the  Mississippi 
in  1 68 1  with  La  Salle,  announcing  the  Gospel  to 
the  tribes  on  its  banks.  He  had  the  happiness 
of  descending  the  great  river  to  its  mouth,  and 
thus  reaching  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  it  was  he 


Ixvi 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


that  chanted  the  Vexilla  Regis  and  Te  Deum  on 
the  achievement  of  this  great  event.  The  Re 
collects,  or  Reformed  Order  of  Franciscans,  by 
attaching  themselves  to  La  Salle,  had  thus 
planted  chapels,  and  announced  the  creed  from 
the  extreme  north  through  the  Valley  of  the 
Mississippi  to  the  Gulf.  Through  the  instiga 
tion  of  La  Salle  and  Fronteiiac,  the  French 
Government  requested  the  Holy  See  to  establish 
Vicariates  Apostolic  in  the  Valley  of  the  Missis^ 
sippi.  The  request  was  granted,  but  the  Bishop 
of  Quebec,  Saint  Vallier,  protested  against  the 
step.  The  Jesuits  claimed  this  region  through 
the  glorious  deeds  of  Father  Marquette,  and 
after  further  investigations  by  the  King  of 
France  and  the  Holy  See,  the  decrees  estab 
lishing  the  Vicariates  were  revoked.  In  1684 
La  Salle  returned  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  com 
manding  an  expedition  of  the  French  Govern 
ment,  under  the  pretext  of  continuing  his  explo 
rations  of  the  Mississippi  region,  his  true  design 
being  to  enter  Mexico  and  plunder  its  rich  mines. 
The  Recollect  Fathers  Membr6,  Douay  and  Le 
Clercq  and  Cavelier,  brother  of  La  Salle,  accom 
panied  the  expedition  with  facilities  for  establish 
ing  missions.  Fort  St.  Louis  was  built  by  La 
Salle,  and  in  the  fort  the  Fathers  built  a  little 
chapel,  in  which  for  two  years  they  offered  the 
Holy  Mass.  The  death  of  La  Salle  at  the  hands 
of  his  own  men  ended  this  unfortunate  expedition. 
Again  the  Jesuits  were  in  full  charge  of  the 
missions  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  and  Father 
Allouez  among  the  Miamis  and  Fort  St.  Louis  ; 
Fathers  Nouvel  and  Enjalran  at  Green  Bay; 
Father  John  Joseph  Marest  among  the  Sioux ; 
working  in  the  Illinois  Missions  also  were  Fathers 
Albanel,  Bailloquet,  James  Gravier,  Aveneau, 
Carheil  and  Potier.  But  the  fierce  Iroquois  were 
offended  at  the  stern  measures  of  La  Salle,  and 
resented  the  establishment  of  forts  at  Catarocony, 
Niagara  and  on  the  Illinois,  and  a  force  of  Sen- 
ecas  attacked  Fort  St.  Louis,  but  Durantaye, 
accompanied  by  Father  Allonez,  went  to  its 
relief,  and  the  Senecas  were  repulsed.  The 
French  now  made  war  with  the  Senecas,  and  the 
missionaries  were  in  peril;  Fathers  Fremin, 
Pierron  and  Gamier  had  to  return  to  Canada; 
Father  de  Carheil  was  plundered  by  the  Cayu- 
gas,  and  as  we  have  seen  the  mission  at  Ouon- 
daga,  the  last  of  all,  finally  surrendered. 


In  September,  1688,  the  little  chapel  at  Ni 
agara,  which  Father  Milet,  from  the  Mohawk, 
had  been  the  last  priest  to  visit,  was  abandoned 
when  the  French  abandoned  the  fort.  This 
same  missionary  was  seized  and  made  a  prisoner 
by  treachery  by  some  Onondagas,  pretending  to 
need  a  priest  to  attend  their  sick,  in  1689,  and 
after  robbery  and  ill  treatment,  was  given  into 
the  friendly  hands  of  his  own  Oneida  converts  ; 
but  he  was  held  in  captivity,  which  lasted  until 
October,  1694,  when  he  accompanied  an  Oueida 
delegation,  suing  for  peace,  to  Montreal.  The 
Mohawk  was  ravaged  in  turn  by  French  and 
English  warlike  expeditions,  both  equally  de 
structive  of  all  religious  interests.  Missions 
were  destroyed  and  pastors  driven  away.  But 
the  missions  had  been  founded,  and  converts  were 
not  wanting  who  were  ready  to  suffer  and  die  for 
their  faith.  Stephen  Tegananokoa,  when  about 
to  expire  on  the  scaffold  at  Onondaga  and  re 
proached  for  abandoning  the  canton  for  the  mis 
sion,  proclaimed  himself  a  Christian  and  ready 
to  die  for  the  God  who  had  shed  his  blood  for 
him.  He  died  in  the  midst  of  tortures,  which 
only  savages  could  inflict  or  a  martyr  endure, 
amid  taunts  to  his  faith  making  the  sign  of  the 
Cross  and  commencing  his  prayer :  "In  the 
name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost."  An  Indian  girl,  Frances  Gonann- 
hatenha,  professed  the  faith  on  the  scaffold,  and 
when  the  crucifix  was  torn  from  her  breast  and 
a  cross  to  supply  its  place  cut  deep  in  her  flesh, 
she  accepted  the  latter  with  joy,  and  expired 
under  a  shower  of  stones  and  heathen  reproaches 
to  her  religion.  Margaret  Garangouas,  daughter 
of  the  Iroquois  chief,  received  martyrdom  at  the 
hands  of  the  treacherous  Onondagas,  expiring 
with  the  names  of  Jesus,  Mary  and  Joseph  on 
her  lips,  in  the  midst  of  tortures  too  cruel  to 
describe. 

During  the  peace  between  England  and  France 
the  old  missionary  Father  James  Bruyas  was  sent 
to  Onondaga,  but  the  English  governor  had  dis 
couraged  the  missions  and  the  Indians  declined 
to  renew  them.  In  1701  he  again  returned  and 
renewed  his  appeal,  but  it  was  not  until  1702  that 
the  cantons  requested  the  return  of  the  Fathers. 
Father  James  Lamberville,  already  grown  old 
in  this  apostolic  service,  went  to  Ouondaga,  and 
Fathers  Gamier  and  du  Gueslis  to  the  Senecas, 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


Ixvii 


and  later  came  Father  James  d'Heu  and  Father 
Peter  de  Mareuil  to  relieve  Father  Gamier.  But 
the  English  viewed  their  return  with  disfavor, 
and  in  1709  Colonel  Schuyler,  from  Albany, 
treacherously  induced  Father  Lamberville  to  go 
to  Canada  on  a  pretended  message  to  the  governor, 
and  then  pretending  to  take  Father  de  Mareuil  in 
his  care  to  save  his  life,  carried  him  to  Albany, 
where  he  remained  a  prisoner  until  1710.  Father 
d'Heu  was  next  obliged  to  seek  safety  in  Canada, 
and  thus  by  treachery  the  missionaries  were 
scattered,  the  chapels  reduced  to  ashes  and  the 
Iroquois  missions  ended. 

France  became  awakened  to  the  importance  of 
maintaining  her  ground  on  this  continent;  in 
1720  she  built  a  fort  at  Niagara,  in  1731  one  at 
Crown  Point  on  Lake  Champlain,  and  here 
chapels  were  conducted  by  Recollect  Fathers. 
In  1749  Celeron  descended  the  Ohio  to  the  great 
Miami,  thence  to  Lake  Erie,  and  thus  Holy  Mass 
was  offered  in  Southern  Ohio  by  Father  Bonni- 
camp.  In  1753  Fort  Presquille  was  erected  on 
the  bay  opening  into  Lake  Erie ;  also  Fort  de  la 
Riviere  aux  Boeufs,  near  the  present  city  of 
Waterford;  Fort  Machault,  and  at  the  junction 
of  the  rivers  Monongahela  and  Allegheny,  Fort 
Duquesne,  site  of  the  present  city  of  Pittsburg. 
At  all  these  places  chapels  were  erected,  and 
pastors  stationed.  Recent  historical  researches 
have  added  great  interest  to  all  these  ancient 
historical  landmarks,  especially  to  Fort  Du 
quesne,  where  a  modern  shrine  commemorates 
the  ancient  altar.  The  Jesuits  also  started  a 
mission  among  the  Delawares,  on  the  Ohio,  and 
the  Sulpitians  founded  a  mission  at  Fort  Presen 
tation,  site  of  the  present  city  of  Ogdensburg. 
The  last  was  attended  by  the  distinguished  Abbe 
Piquet,  who  ardently  conceived  and  attempted 
the  execution  of  a  plan  for  reviving  the  missions 
of  the  Mohawk.  He  visited  the  tribes  as  far  as 
Niagara,  and  in  1748  he  erected  mission  works 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Oswegatchie  and  expended 
thirty  thousand  livres  on  them,  but  in  1749  a 
Mohawk  war  left  all  in  ashes.  Undismayed  by 
such  a  disaster  the  good  Abbe  Piquet  renewed  his 
generous  effort  with  more  success,  and  the  Mis 
sion  of  the  Presentation  had  a  congregation  of 
three  thousand  Onondagas  and  Cayugas.  The 
mission  continued  until  1760,  but  the  Seven 
Years'  War  between  England  and  France  was 


commencing,  and  its  ravages  swept  away  all  the 
fruits  of  this  generous  effort. 

The  scene  of  the  Ottawa  missions  was  in 
Michigan  and  Wisconsin,  and  among  tribes  of 
Algonquin  origin.  As  early  as  1641  tidings  of 
Christianity  were  received  through  the  Chip- 
pewas,  who  had  heard  the  Word  announced  by 
the  Jesuits.  Fathers  Charles  Raynibaut  and 
Isaac  Jogues  were  the  first  to  visit  them,  but  it 
was  not  until  1656  that  Fathers  Leonard  Garreau 
and  Gabriel  Druillettes,  while  the  French  adven 
turers  recoiled  before  Ottawa  brutality,  advanced 
among  them  with  the  Cross.  The" former  was 
killed  by  Iroquois  bullets  shot  from  ambush,  and 
Father  Druillettes  was  abandoned  by  the  Ot- 
tawas.  In  1660  Father  Menard  bravely  accom- 
panied  the  trading  Ottawas  home  from  Montreal, 


The  Wilderness  on  the  St.  Lawrence. 

and  received  brutal  treatment  at  their  hands. 
He  offered  the  first  Mass  on  Lake  Superior  at 
Old  Point  Village,  north  of  the  French  village  of 
L'Anse.  Driven  from  his  hut  of  boughs  he  made 
his  food  of  the  lichens  scraped  from  the  rocks, 
and  yet  in  after  years  Fathers  Marquette,  Allouez 
and  Nouvel  met  here  converts  of  his.  Receiving 
a  request  from  the  Tionotitales,  then  in  a  starving 
condition,  to  visit  them,  he  went  against  all  re 
monstrances,  in  hopes  of  finding  more  willing 
ears,  endured  hardships  beyond  description,  and 
perished  in  the  rapids  on  the  Wisconsin,  while 
guiding  his  canoe  alone.  The  next  missionary 
among  the  Ottawas  was  Father  Claude  Allouez, 
who  landed  at  Chegoimegon  in  September,  1665, 
and  erected  a  bark  chapel  in  honor  of  the  Hoi}1 
Ghost,  the  first  in  Wisconsin.  His  early  experi- 


Ixviii 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


ence  was  the  destruction  of  his  chapel  and  the 
robbing  of  himself.  The  Ottawas  were  obdurate, 
the  Sacs  and  Foxes  haughty  and  cruel,  but  the 
Pottawatomies  were  more  tractable.  Father  Al- 
louez  was  appointed  Superior  of  the  Missions  and 
Vicar  General  of  the  Bishop  of  Quebec.  His 
labors  were  extraordinary.  He  reached  the 
western  end  of  Lake  Superior;  in  1667  he  went 
to  Lake  Alimibegong,  and  found  opportunity  by 
his  zeal  of  renewing  the  faith  of  former  converts 
of  the  Huron  Mission;  in  the  summer  of  1667 
he  made  the  arduous  journey  to  Quebec  and  back, 
spending  only  ten  days,  laid  his  extensive  plans 
for  missions  before  his  superiors,  obtained  from 
Bishop  Laval  authority  to  check  the  licentious 
conduct  of  the  French,  and  returned  with  Father 
Louis  Nicholas,  companion  of  his  labors,  dangers 
and  hardships.  With  Father  Marquette  as  his 
assistant  at  the  Sault  Sainte  Mary,  and  Father 
Nicholas  and  Father  Dablon,  he  scattered  the 
seed  of  the  Gospel  among  tribes  the  most  diffi 
cult  to  reach,  following  the  remnants  of  tribes 
flying  before  the  fierce  and  victorious  Iroquois, 
producing  a  perfect  and  sincere  change  from 
heathenism  to  Christianity  among  the  Ottawas 
at  La  Pointe,  who  at  his  appeal  abandoned 
polygamy,  the  worship  of  false  gods  and  all  su 
perstitious  practices.  By  his  superior  manage 
ment  he  established  peace  between  the  Iroquois 
and  Ottawas,  placed  the  Ottawa  Mission  on  a 
permanent  basis  and  Father  Dablon  at  its  head 
as  Supervisor.  Then  sending  Father  Marquette, 
in  September,  1669,  to  labor  among  the  varied 
elements  of  Indian  tribes  at  Chegoimegon,  he 
made  the  arduous  journey  to  the  Upper  Lakes, 
in  canoes,  through  ice,  snows,  and  violent  storms, 
reached  Green  Bay  after  incredible  sufferings, 
and  spent  the  winter  there  in  apostolic  labors 
among  Sacs,  Foxes,  Pottawatomies  and  Winne- 
bagoes.  In  the  spring  he  ascended  Fox  River, 
and  in  council,  wigwam,  cabin  and  on  the  hunt, 
he  announced  the  Word  of  God.  His  food  was 
Indian  corn  and  acorns.  He  next  ascended  Wolf 
River  and  the  region  of  the  Mississippi,  where 
the  Menomonees  lived,  preaching,  toiling,  fasting 
and  travelling,  and  returned  to  Sault  Sainte  Mary 
late  in  May. 

In  these  arduous  and  perilous  labors  and  trav 
els  he  studied  several  Indian  languages  and  ren 
dered  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  Angelical  Saluta 


tion  in  the  Winnebago  language.  Father  Al- 
louez  well  won  the  title  of  First  Apostle  of  Wis 
consin.  Chapels  were  erected  at  the  Sault  in 
May,  1671,  and  other  places.  Father  Andre  en 
tered  the  field  and  evangelized  the  Missisages, 
Manitoulines,  Mackinacs  and  the  tribes  on  Lake 
Nipissiug.  Father  Marquette  followed  the  de 
feated  tribes  flying  from  the  Iroquois,  and  Father 
Allouez,  from  Green  Bay,  made  apostolic  visita 
tions  among  tribes  far  and  near.  Good  and  com 
modious  churches,  with  complete  outfits,  were 
erected  at  the  Sault  and  on  the  Fox  River.  In 
the  midst  of  their  appalling  labors  the  Fathers 
met  with  persecution  from  the  medicine-men, 
one  of  whom  came  three  times  near  cleaving  the 
head  of  Father  Noiivel  with  his  tomahawk.  They 
waged  unceasing  war  against  heathenism  and 
insisted  on  the  Indians  receiving  Christianity  in 
all  its  purity.  Yet  there  were  many  things  in 
the  devotions  practised  which  were  gentty  con 
formed  to  the  simple  minds  and  manners  of  the 
Indians.  Father  Andre,  laboring  at  the  new 
Church  of  St.  Francis  Xavier,  near  Green  Bay, 
j  ust  before  Christmas  saw  all  destroyed,  even  his 
papers  and  all  his  effects,  but  he  was  rejoiced  to 
see  the  Indians  immediately  rebuild  him  a 
chapel,  which  consisted  of  straw  walls  thrown 
up  as  high  as  a  man's  head,  covered  with  mats. 
Father  Allouez  reared  a  chapel  near  Maskoutiii 
of  mats  of  reeds.  Such  were  the  chapels  of  the 
Catholic  missionaries  in  our  country  at  that 
early  period.  But  the  labors  of  the  missionaries 
were  almost  unbounded.  Father  Andre,  in  addi 
tion  to  the  overwhelming  labors  at  St.  Francis 
Xavier's,  attended  the  Pottawatomies,  the  Win- 
nebagoes  and  Menomonees,  and  Father  Allouez 
from  Maskoutin,  where  his  duties  were  exhaust 
ing,  attended  the  Miamis,  Foxes,  Sacs  and 
other  tribes.  Both  were  liable  at  any  time  to 
meet  the  most  sudden  and  disastrous  casualties 
of  Indian  wars  and  devastations.  In  such  hum 
ble  chapels  pious  women  came  regularly  to  pray 
and  chant,  and  the  braves  would  tarry  in  the 
chapels  on  their  way  to  and  from  the  hunts  and 
the  wars.  In  1675  Father  Silvy  assisted  Father 
Allouez  in  his  sublime  labors.  It  was  the  Otta 
was  who,  in  1677,  reverently  buried  the  sacred 
remains  of  Father  Marquette  at  Michilimackinac. 
The  Ottawa  missions  passed  through  many 
vicissitudes.  The  work  of  years  in  some  cases 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


was  destroyed  by  the  sudden  outbreak  of  a  ca 
pricious  Indian  war,  for  it  was  thus  that  Father 
Druillettes  found  his  chapel  and  residence  burned 
in  the  general  conflagration  of  the  war  between 
the  Sioux  and  Algonquins,  and  in  some  cases 
the  missionary  lived  almost  entirely  in  his  canoe, 
going  from  tribe  to  tribe,  announcing  the  saving 
Word.  In  some  missions,  as  in  the  double  mis 
sion  of  the  Kiskakons,  where  the  congregations 
numbered  nearly  2,000,  the  congregation  of  each 
village  was  placed  under  the  charge  of  a  cate- 
chist,  and  thus  the  work  of  the  priest,  who  might 
be  laboring  in  another  town,  went  on ;  and  here 
the  superstitious  rites  and  lewd  dances  ceased, 
Sundays  and  holidays  were  religiously  observed, 
and  every  Thursday  the  benediction  of  the 
Blessed  Sacrament  was  given.  Mackinaw,  Le- 
pointe,  Lorette  and  Green  Bay  were  places 
where  at  the  beginning  of  the  last  quarter  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  devout  Christian  congrega 
tions  were  seen  in  the  daily  practice  of  a  Chris 
tian  life. 

But,  like  all  the  other  Catholic  missions  in 
this  country  at  that  date,  the  Ottawa  mission  was 
seriously  afflicted,  not  only,  as  we  have  mentioned, 
by  the  opposition  and  persecution  of  the  medicine 
men,  and  by  Indian  wars,  but  also  by  the  great 
struggle  which  England  and  France  carried  on 
for  political  dominion  over  the  country.  The 
Jesuit  fathers  struggled  on  through  appalling 
difficulties  and  sufferings.  France  took  formal 
possession  of  the  West  in  1670,  but  England 
continued  the  struggle  until  the  Seven  Years' 
War  decided  in  her  favor.  The  missionaries 
who  came  to  labor  in  the  vineyard,  besides  those 
already  mentioned,  were  Fathers  Albanel,  Ave- 
neau,  Potier,  Chardon  and  Marest,  the  last  of 
whom  became  the  Superior  of  the  Ottawa  and 
Illinois  missions.  The  French  government  in 
Canada  no  longer  cherished  the  missions  as  the 
noble  and  devout  Champlain  had  done,  and  many 
languished  in  the  struggle  for  political  suprem 
acy.  Detroit  was  founded  on  July  21,  1701,  and 
beside  Fort  Pontchartrain  arose  the  chapel  of  St. 
Anne,  and  here  Father  Delhalle,  a  Recollect, 
founded  the  first  permanent  white  congregation 
in  the  West.  Many  of  the  Hurons  and  Ottawas, 
under  Cadillac's  orders,  transferred  their  cabins 
to  Detroit.  The  mission  of  St.  Joseph  was  de 
stroyed,  and  in  1705  Michilimackinac  was 


abandoned,  and  the  mission  of  Green  Bay  was 
the  only  Jesuit  mission  on  the  Lakes  remaining, 
and  here  Father  Nouvel,  the  veteran  of  forty 
years'  apostolic  labors,  continued  his  services 
until  his  death  in  1702.  But  the  withdrawal  of 
the  missionaries,  messengers  of  peace,  left  the 
injured  feelings  of  the  Indians  to  ferment  into 
hostility;  Detroit  was  attacked  in  1706,  and 
Father  Constantine,  its  pastor,  while  going  on  a 
message  of  peace,  fell  dead  at  the  entrance  to 
the  fort  by  the  balls  of  Ottawa  warriors.  De 
troit  was  saved  after  desperate  fighting.  Some 
efforts  were  made  to  renew  old  missions,  such  as 
Michilimackinac  and  others,  but  in  1721,  when 
Father  Charlevoix,  the  historian,  visited  the 
Ottawa  mission,  Mackinaw,  the  Sault  and  Green 
Bay  were  still  missionary  stations,  but  there  was 
little  return  for  the  arduous  labors  of  the  past  or 
of  the  Fathers  then  laboring  there.  The  Jesuits 
were  laboring  in  the  farther  West,  and  in  1731 
Father  Mesaiger  accompanied  French  officials 
through  Minnesota  as  far  as  the  lands  of  the 
Mandans.  Detroit  waxed  strong  as  a  city  in 
those  days.  Father  Bocquet  built  a  new  church 
of  St.  Anne  in  1755  and  Bishop  de  Pontbriand 
of  Quebec  visited  the  city  in  that  year.  The 
condition  of  religion  in  the  Northwest  was  not 
flourishing  or  promising :  the  remnants  of  nearly 
a  century's  labors,  sacrifices,  sufferings  and 
deaths  now  consisted  of  the  church  of  Detroit 
with  its  pastor,  on  the  Great  Lakes.  There  were 
only  two  Jesuit  Fathers,  and  the  old  missions  of 
Vincennes,  Kaskaskia,  Cahokia,  Prairie  du  Ro- 
cher  and  Fort  Chartres  were  without  pastors. 
What  the  medicine-men  and  Indian  wars  left 
undestroyed,  the  politics  and  struggles  of  Eng 
land  and  France  completely  destroyed. 

The  discoveries  and  explorations  of  Joliet  and 
Marquette,  and  subsequently  of  La  Salle  and 
Tonty,  of  the  countries  watered  by  the  Missis 
sippi,  opened  vast  regions  to  the  zeal  of  the 
Church,  and,  as  a  general  rule,  the  Church  was 
in  advance  of  civil  explorers.  The  northern  re 
gions  of  the  Mississippi  belonged  more  appropri 
ately  to  the  Illinois  or  other  missions  already 
mentioned,  but  the  lower  countries  of  the  Mis 
sissippi,  embracing  an  immense  country  known 
as  Louisiana,  which  embraced  several  States  of 
the  American  Union,  was  sought  to  be  given  to 
the  Recollects  through  the  influence  of  Fronte- 


Jxx 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


nac  and  La  Salle,  but  was  claimed  by  the  Jesuits 
through  the  explorations  of  Father  Marquette 
and  as  a  part  of  the  Illinois  mission.  The  Sul- 
pitian  Seminary  of  Quebec  entered  the  field  as  a 
great  missionary  body,  and  with  the  support  of 
Bishop  St.  Vallier,  in  1698,  sent  out  Very  Rev. 
Francis  Jolliet  de  Montigny,  Rev.  Anthony  Da- 
vion  and  Rev.  John  Francis  Buisson  de  St.  Cosme, 
who  entered  the  Mississippi  River  in  December, 
reached  the  southern  tribes  of  the  Arkansas, 
Tonicas  and  Taensas,  and  in  March,  1700,  when 
Iberville,  governor  of  Louisiana,  ascended  the 
river  he  found  Father  Montigny  erecting  his 
chapel  among  the  Natchez.  Crosses  had  been 
erected  by  the  missionaries  at  several  places  on 
the  descent  of  the  river.  Father  Davion  estab 
lished  himself  at  the  Tonica  village,  visited  the 
Ounspiks  and  Yazoos,  and  barely  escaped  with 
his  life  for  destroying  the  idols  in  the  temple  of 
the  Yazoos.  Father  St.  Cosme  established  him 
self  higher  up  among  the  Tamarois.  The  mis 
sionaries  visited  the  French  settlements  at  Biloxi, 
near  the  mouth  of  the  river.  While  visiting  the 
Natchez,  Father  Montigny  arrived  just  as  the 
great  chief,  the  Great  Sun,  was  about  to  be 
buried  and,  with  much  persuasion  and  pres 
ents,  induced  the  warriors  to  desist  from  putting 
to  death  several  Indians  to  accompany  the  de 
ceased  on  his  journey ;  but  the  Female  Sun 
treacherously  induced  the  Father  to  leave  the 
village  under  pretence  of  avoiding  the  great  noise 
of  the  funeral,  and  during  his  absence  the  human 
victims  were  sacrificed.  In  1701  the  Seminary 
sent  out  new  missionaries  to  the  Louisiana  mis 
sion,  Fathers  Bouteville  and  Saint  Cosme,  the 
latter  a  brother  of  the  other  missionary  of  that 
name.  Iverville,  from  below,  came  provided  with 
priests,  and  Father  Bordenave  was  appointed  pas 
tor  at  Biloxi.  The  question  of  jurisdiction  over 
the  Louisiana  missions,  and  the  embarrassing 
questions  growing  out  of  the  inconvenient  prox 
imity  of  the  missions  of  the  Seminary  and  the 
Jesuits,  caused  the  question  to  be  referred  to  the 
king  and  members  of  the  French  Hierarchy,  and 
the  decision,  in  which  all  interested  acquiesced, 
was  in  favor  of  the  Seminary.  But  Father  Mon 
tigny,  discouraged  at  the  result,  did  not  return  to 
the  Mississippi,  and  the  Bishop  of  Quebec  reap- 
pointed  the  superior  of  the  Jesuits  in  Illinois 
missions  Vicar-General  for  his  district.  The 


missions  were  much  disturbed  by  the  emigration 
of  Indians  from  above  towards  Biloxi,  for  they 
wanted  to  be  near  the  French,  and  an  aged  priest, 
Father  Foucault,  was  killed  by  his  guides  while 
going  from  the  Arkansas  to  Mobile.  The  Paw 
nees  and  Mobiles  were  visited  by  missionaries, 
and  in  1703  Mobile  was  erected  into  a  parish  by 
the  Bishop  of  Quebec,  and  Rev.  Henry  Roul- 
leaux  was  appointed  its  pastor  and  Rev.  Alexan 
der  Huve  curate,  Father  Davion  serving  the 
French  and  Indians  there  until  their  arrival  in 
July,  1704.  The  Louisiana  missions  created 
much  interest  in  France.  Death  struck  down 
several  of  the  missionaries  ;  the  elder  Father  St. 
Cosme  was  murdered  by  the  Sitimachas  while 
asleep  at  night  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  and 
Father  Bergier,  at  the  Tamarois,  sickened  and 
died.  Father  le  Verte,  pastor  at  Mobile,  was 
active  and  eloquent,  and  justly  denounced  the 
French  liquor-dealers,  who  debauched  the  Indians 
with  fire-water,  and  by  his  zeal  made  enemies 
among  the  French.  Governor  Bienville  became 
opposed  to  him  and  withheld  the  salaries  of  the 
clergy.  He  erected  new  church  edifices  at  Mo 
bile  and  was  a  faithful  pastor,  but  a  painful  dis 
ease  caused  him  to  return  to  France  in  1710. 
Rev.  Mr.  Huve  attended  the  parish  of  Mobile 
and  the  Catholic  Apalaches  ten  miles  distant, 
who  were  converts  of  the  Spanish  and  had  erected 
a  chapel  for  themselves.  He  subsequently  was 
chaplain  at  the  French  fort  on  Dauphin  Island, 
where  he  erected  a  fine  church  in  1710.  He  was 
robbed  and  nearly  killed  by  the  English  in  their 
descent  on  the  island,  and,  after  other  service 
among  the  Indians,  returned  to  France  in  1727 
almost  blind.  Rev.  Mr.  Davion  labored  at  Mo 
bile  in  the  midst  of  poverty  and  deprivation  for 
many  years.  The  good  Apalaches  were  driven 
from  their  homes  by  the  Alibamons  and  were 
furnished  by  Bienville  with  another  village. 
They  remained  true  to  the  faith. 

The  mission  at  Tamarois,  or  Cahokia,  was  the 
most  successful  of  the  Seminary  missions ;  and 
desirous  to  revive  the  other  missions,  the  Rev. 
Dominic  Mary  Varlet,  a  distinguishedjariest,  was 
made  Superior  of  the  missions  and  Vicar-General. 
He  took  up  his  residence  at  Mobile  and  spent  six 
years  in  the  Louisiana  missions.  In  1718  a 
French  settlement  grew  up  around  Fort  Char- 
tres  among  the  Kaskaskias,  and  Father  John  Le 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


Ixxi 


Boullenger  was   made   the  pastor,   who  became 
conversant  with  the  Indian  language  and  pre 
pared  an  excellent  grammar  and  dictionary  in  the 
Illinois.     In  1720  Father  Beaubois,  of  the  Soci 
ety  of  Jesus,  was  pastor  at  Kaskaskia,  and  at 
Cahokia   Rev.    Mr.    Mercier  was    serving.      At 
Yazoo  in  1723  the  Abbe  Juif  was  pastor,  and  at 
Fort  Chartres  a  stone  chapel  was  erected  in  1757. 
Thus  Catholic  missions  extended  from  the  north, 
from  the  Miami  mission  of  the  Angel  Guardian 
at  Chicago  and  Kaskaskia,  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi  at  Biloxi.     The  lives  of  the  French 
were  a  reproach  to  their  professions  and  called 
forth  remonstrances  from  the   good  Bishop  of 
Quebec.     Father  Charlevoix  extended  his  visit 
in  1722  down  the  Mississippi  as  far  as  New 
Orleans,  and   his   report   on  the  missions 
led  to  measures  for  their  relief.     In   1717 
Louisiana  was  assigned  by  France  to  the 
Company  of  the  West,  a  joint  stock  com 
pany.     In  1822  the  country  was  divided  into 
three  ecclesiastical  provinces ;  the  part  north 
of  the  Ohio  and  west   of  the  Mississippi 
was  assigned  to  the  Society  of  Jesus  and 
the  Seminary  priests,  who  were  both  already 
on  the  field ;    and  the  French  settlements 
near  the  mouth  of  the  river   were    placed 
under  the  j  urisdiction  of  Right  Rev.  Louis 
Francis  Duplessis  de  Mornay,  a  Capuchin 
who  was  consecrated   Bishop  of  Eumenia  'j? 
in  Phrygia  and  Co-adjutor  of  Quebec,   in 
April,  1714,  and  who  governed  the  province 
from  his  residence  in  France.     He  assigned 
the  large  and  intermediate  province  of  Lou 
isiana  to  the  Capuchins,  who  arrived  in  1721. 
Father  John    Matthew,    Capuchin,   was    parish 
priest  at  Mobile  and  acted  independently  of  the 
Bishop  of   Quebec,  assuming   the   powers  of  a 
Vicar  Apostolic.      Bienville  founded   New  Or 
leans  in  1718.     A  frame  church  dedicated  to  St. 
Ignatius  was  erected  and  attended  by  a  Capuchin 
named    Father  Anthony,  and   in    1724  a  brick 
church  was  built  which  lasted  sixty  years.     The 
Company  of  the  West  assigned  the  Louisiana 
district,    between   the    Mississippi   and  the  Rio 
Perdido,  with  the  country  north  of  the  Ohio,  to  the 
Carmelites,  with  the  headquarters  at  Mobile,  and 
one  Carmelite  served  for  a  time  the  Apalaches ; 
but  the  Capuchins  finally  took  this  field  by  ap 
pointment.     The  Jesuits  and  Seminary  priests 


extended  their  missions  from  'the  Illinois  to 
Natchez  ;  and  the  Society  of  Jesus  was  thus  au 
thorized  to  found  missions  in  any  part  of  the  vast 
country  known  as  Louisiana,  to  maintain  a  resi 
dence  at  New  Orleans,  but  could  not  exercise 
ecclesiastical  faculties  without  the  consent  of  the 
Capuchins,  whose  Superior  was  Vicar-General  at 
New  Orleans,  while  the  Superiors  of  the  Jesuits 
and  the  Seminarians  were  Vicars-General  in  the 
Illinois  district.  The  founder  of  the  Jesuit  mis 
sions  in  Louisiana  was  Father  Nicholas  Ignatius 
de  Beaubois.  The  religious  establishments,  in 
1725,  consisted  of  New  Orleans,  with  600  fam 
ilies  ;  Mobile,  with  60  families ;  Apalache,  with 
30  Indian  families ;  Balize,  with  6 ;  Les  Alle- 


Jesuit  Mission  at  Natchez. 

mands,  with  200;  Point  Coupee,  with  100; 
Natchez,  with  6  ;  and  Natchitoches,  with  50  fam 
ilies.  There  were  three  other  less  important  mis 
sions.  The  good  work  was  greatly  promoted  by 
the  arrival,  in  August,  1727,  of  the  Ursulines, 
Mother  Franchepain  and  seven  professed  Sisters, 
and  the  first  convent  within  our  country  was 
thus  founded.  A  school  for  girls  was  commenced 
with  success,  and  in  1734  the  Ursulines  were 
installed  in  their  new  convent. 

The  Jesuits  and  Capuchins  were  in  charge  of 
the  missions,  the  former  having  the  Indians  and 
the  latter  the  French  settlements.  The  Jesuit 
Fathers  consisted  of  Fathers  Baudouin,  le  Petic, 
du  Poisson,  Souel,  de  Guyenne,  Dumas,  Tar- 


1XX11 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH- -INTRODUCTORY. 


tarin,  and  Dautreleau,  and  they  attended  the 
Illinois,  the  Arkansas,  the  Alibamons  and  Choc- 
taws.  The  Capuchins  had  the  Vicar-General 
Raphael  and  Fathers  Hyacinth  and  Cecilius  at 
New  Orleans,  where  the  last  conducted  school ! 
Father  Philip,  at  Les  Allemands ;  Father  Gas- 
par,  at  Balize  ;  Father  Mathias,  at  Mobile  ;  Father 
Dupui,  a  Recollect,  was  parish  priest  at  Apala- 
ches;  Father  Maximin,  at  Natchitoches ;  and 
Father  Philibert,  at  Natchez.  The  Jesuit  Father 
Beaudouin  also  attempted  the  perilous  task  of 
founding  a  mission  among  the  false-hearted 
Chickasaws. 

The  first  Jesuit  martyr  was  Father  du  Poisson, 
who,  on  his  way  to  New  Orleans,  stopped  to  give 
divine  service  at  Natchez,  and  while  going  to  the 
sick  with  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  was  struck  dead 
with  an  Indian  blade,  and  a  general  massacre  of 
the  French  by  the  Yazoos  followed.  Father  Dau^ 
treleau,  while  offering  Mass  on  the  banks  of  the 
Mississippi,  was  assailed  with  volleys  of  balls 
from  Natchez  Indians,  and  seemed  to  escape 
miraculously.  The  French  then  reduced  the  re 
bellious  Natchez  to  subjection.  There  was  also 
a  Seminary  priest,  Gastou,  martyred  by  the  Tam- 
arois  later,  and  many  of  the  clergy,  while  leading 
a  life  of  peril,  were  wasted  by  the  diseases  of  the 
climate.  A  Seminary  mission  was  established  at 
the  new  post  of  Vincennes  in  1735  and  placed  in 
charge  of  the  Recollect  Legrand.  The  Ursulines 
at  New  Orleans  received  the  orphan  girls  left  by 
the  Natchez  massacre,  and  the  Jesuits  from  the 
beginning  were  the  faithful  chaplains  of  the  Nuns. 
A  singular  feature  in  the  history  of  the  early 
church  in  this  country  is  the  struggle  of  relig 
ious  bodies  for  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction,  as  ap 
pears  in  many  passages  of  the  history  of  those 
times.  The  same  occurred  over  the  appointment, 
of  Vicar-Generals  for.  Louisiana,  which  was 
claimed  by  the  Capuchins,  while  the  Bishops  of 
Quebec  asserted  their  right  to  make  the  appoint 
ment,  and  desired  to  appoint  to  that  office  the 
Superior  of  the  Jesuits.  Finally  the  appoint 
ment  of  the  Jesuit  Father  Baudouin  by  the 
Bishop  in  1757,  though  protested  against  by  the 
Capuchins,  was  confirmed. 

The  Natchez  massacre  led  to  the  martyrdom 
of  another  Jesuit.  In  1736,  while  an  expedition 
of  French  and  Indians  was  proceeding  against 
the  Chickasaws,  Father  Senat  accompanied  it  as 


chaplain,  and,  taken  prisoner  with  others  by  the 
Chickasaws  when  he  might  have  escaped,  he  was 
burned  at  the  stake  on  Palm  Sunday.  Such  were 
the  dangers  from  Indian  treachery  at  this  time 
that  the  French  attending  Mass  in  the  country 
missions  had  to  carry  their  guns  with  them,  and, 
while  the  priest  was  offering  the  Holy  Mass 
within,  a  sentinel  on  guard  paced  up  and  down 
before  the  church,  in  front  of  which  the  arms 
were  stacked.  In  1735  the  settlement  of  Sainte 
Genevieve  was  founded  and  placed  in  charge  of 
the  Jesuits.  In  the  Illinois  country  there  were 
seven  French  settlements  attended  by  the  Jesuits 
and  four  by  the  Seminarians,  with  Indians  at 
tached  to  the  missions. 

But  the  Illinois  and  Louisiana  missions  re 
ceived  in  1763  the  severest  of  all  conceivable^ 
misfortunes.  The  Society  of  Jesus,  suppressed 
in  France,  was  hounded  down  here  with  malig 
nant  cruelty  by  the  Louisiana  French  authorities, 
who  extended  their  wicked  and  unlawful  proceed 
ings  into  the  Illinois  country,  though  the  latter 
had  been  ceded  to  England.  The  Fathers,  old 
and  young,  were  torn  from  their  flocks  and 
chapels  and  banished,  chapels  and  altars  were 
sacrilegiously  demolished  or  burned,  their  effects 
were  seized  and  sold  at  auction,  Jesuits  were  pro 
hibited  from  using  the  name  or  habit  of  the  So 
ciety  of  Jesus.  In  many  cases  both  French  and 
Indians  petitioned  that  their  pastors  and  altars 
might  be  spaied,  but  in  vain.  The  most  harsh 
orders  were  carried  into  execution  with  details 
of  cruelty  too  humiliating  to  relate.  The  only 
priests  left  in  the  Northwest  were  the  Recollect 
Father  Bosquet  at  Detroit,  Father  de  Jaunay  at 
Arbre  Croche,  Father  Le  Franc  at  Mackinac, 
Jesuits,  and  the  Recollect  Father  Collet  at  Fort 
Chartres. 

In  the  midst  of  the  desolation  of  the  Church 
of  the  Louisiana  and  the  Illinois  countries,  the 
aged  and  heroic  Jesuit  Father  Sebastian  Meurin 
had  the  courage  and  zeal  to  return  to  his  ravaged 
mission  at  Kaskaskia  in  September,  1764,  with 
the  consent  of  the  wicked  Council  of  Louisiana, 
and  resumed  the  arduous  labors  in  which  he  had 
already  grown  gray  ana  aecrepid.  He  extended 
his  apostolic  labors  to  a  large  county,  including 
Cahokia,  St.  Genevieve,  Vincennes,  and  other 
missions.  Bishop  de  Pontbriaud,  of  Quebec,  hav 
ing  died  during  the  Seven  Years'  War,  and  Rev. 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


Ixxiii 


Mr.  Montgolfier,  elected  to  the  See  of  Quebec, 
having  been  refused  by  the  British  Government 
permission  to  go  to  the  Continent  for  consecra 
tion,  Rev.  Olivier  Briand  was  elected  in  1764. 
He,  too,  was  refused  permission  to  go  and  receive 
consecration  in  France,  and  it  was  not  until  Jan 
uary  i,  1766,  that  the  Bishop  was  permitted  to  re 
ceive  consecration  and  take  possession  of  his  See. 
The  interests  of  religion  in  the  meantime  suffered 
in  Illinois  and  all  the  American  and  Canadian 
countries,  but  now  the  new  Bishop  succeeded 
in  doing  something  to  advance  them.  Father 


assist  Father  Meurin,  and  making  his  journey  an 
apostolic  visitation,  at  Michilimackinac  and  all 
the  places  on  the  route,  he  was  stationed  at  the 
laborious  post  of  Kaskaskia,  while  Father  Meu 
rin  took  Cahokia.  These  two  saintly  and  apos 
tolic  men  extended  their  labors  over  a  vast 
region  now  embracing  many  States.  Father 
Gibault,  the  younger,  attended  missions  far  and 
near,  spending  two  months  at  Vincennes,  attended 
a  regiment  of  Irish  in  the  English  service  sta 
tioned  in  the  Northwest,  fell  there  a  prisoner  into 
the  hands  of  hostile  Indians,  and  extended  his 


Father  Gibault,  Missionary  to  the  Indians. 


Meurin  petitioned  the  Bishop  to  send  priests  to 
the  desolated  missions.  In  August,  1767,  the 
Bishop  appointed  Father  Meurin  his  Vicar-Gen 
eral,  and  the  Father  made  great  exertions  to  re 
cover  the  effects  and  properties  of  the  Church, 
and  with  some  success,  for  the  sacraments  were 
refused  to  such  as  persisted  in  holding  the  con 
fiscated  ecclesiastical  goods  and  effects,  and  the 
people  were  called  upon  to  redeem  the  Church 
lands  from  the  purchasers  at  the  late  lawless  and 
pretended  sales.  In  1768  the  illustrious  mission 
ary  and  patriot,  Father  Peter  Gibault,  was  sent  to 


labors  west  of  the  Mississippi  to  St.  Genevieve, 
St.  Louis,  Peoria,  Michilimackinac,  the  Miamis, 
and  other  Indians.  In  1772  the  Capuchin  Father 
Valentine  became  parish  priest  at  St.  Louis.  It 
was  not  until  1774  that  the  venerable  Father 
heard  of  the  suppression  of  the  Jesuits,  and  at 
tached  himself  to  the  Bishop  of  Quebec.  Father 
Gibault  continued  his  labors  and  afterwards  be 
came  illustrious  as  the  patriot-priest  of  the 
American  Revolution. 

The   foregoing   events  were  followed  by  the 
secret  cession  of  Louisiana  by  France  to  Spain. 


Ixxiv  HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 

The  Capuchins  continued  their  missions  as  well  the  sacraments,  visiting  the  sick,  and  on  many 

as  they  could,  and,  in  1766,  their  number  was  other   important   details  of  pastoral   labor   and 

increased  by  the  arrival  of  three  Spanish  Capu-  duty.    He  also  made  an  active  and  zealous  visita- 

chins  with  Ulloa,  the  Spanish  Governor  of  the  tion  of  his  Diocese.     So  able  was  his  administra- 

province.     The  Church  and  religion  made  but  tion,  that,  in  1801,  he  was  promoted  to  the  Archi- 

little  progress  during  the  struggle  between  French  episcopal  See  of  Guatemala,  and  a  Franciscan 

and  Spanish  local  officials  for  the  mastery,  but  in  priest  of  the  Convent  of  Santi  Apostoli  at  Rome, 

1772  the  Bishop  of  Cuba  sent  five  Spanish  Capu-  Right   Rev.  Francis   Porro  y  Peinada,  was  ap- 

chius  to  New  Orleans  and  old  neglected  parishes  pointed  second  Bishop  of  Louisiana.   But  changes 

began   to   receive   pastors.     St.    Louis    received  political  and  territorial  jurisdictions    prevented 

Father   Valentine   as    its    pastor   in    that   year,  his  reaching  his  See,  and  he  was  transferred  to 

Scandals  and  dissensions  arose,  French  prejudice  another.     Louisiana  was  transferred  to  France, 

against  Spanish  priests  retarded  the  good  work,  and  immediately  ceded  by  Napoleon,  first  Consul, 

The  Capuchin   Father  Cyril  de  Barcelona  was  to  the  United  States,  on  March  26,  1803.     Rev. 

appointed  by  the  Bishop  of  Cuba  as  Director  and  Thomas  Hasset  was  appointed  administrator  of 

Vicar-General  of  Louisiana,  and  labored  to  correct  the  Diocese.     Spanish    priests  were   given   the 

abuses  and  dissensions  among  the  clergy,  and  privilege  of  retiring  to  Spanish  territories,  and 

established  order  in  the  province  and  its  congre-  many  of  them,  including  the  pastors  of  Opelousas, 

gations,  and  finally,  in  1781,  he  was  appointed  St.  Charles,  St.  Louis  and  St.  Genevieve,  availed 

and  consecrated  auxiliary  Bishop,  took  up  his  themselves  of  the  privilege.    It  was  again  thought 

residence  at  New  Orleans,  and  had  jurisdiction  of  transferring  the  Ursulines  to  Spain.     Fortu- 

over  the  Church  in  the  vast  region  of  Louisiana  nateiy  it  was  again  decided  to  remain.     A  few 

and  the  Floridas.     Organized  parishes  existed  at  retired  to  Spanish  convents,  but  the  community 

New  Orleans  and  thirteen  other  places  in  Louis-  remained.     In    December,  1803,  Louisiana  was 

iana,  including  Point  Coupe,  Opelousas,  Natchi-  formally  transferred  to  the  United  States,  and 

toches,  Natchez,  St.   Louis,  St.  Genevieve  and  the  future  history  of  the  Church  in  Louisiana 

Galveston.     Bishop  Cyril  in  1785  made  an  apos-  forms  a  part  of  the  ecclesiastical  history  of  the 

tolic  and  laborious  visitation  of  his  vast  Diocese,  American  Republic. 

which  resulted  in  immense  good,  and  in   1788,         Our  history  would  be  incomplete  without  some 

after   the   great  conflagration  at  New  Orleans,  mention  of  the  Acadians,  who  were  nevertheless 

which  destroyed  his  church  and  residence,  and  torn  from  their  homes,  and  left  homeless,  penni- 

after  laying  the  corner-stone  of  a  new  church,  he  less  and  without  altar  or  priest  at  various  places 

made  the  visitation  of  the  Floridas.  along  the  Atlantic  coast  of  the  American  colo- 

The  good  Ursulines  passed  through  such  vicis-  nies.     Acadia,  now  Nova  Scotia,  was  the  home 

situdes  that  it  was  proposed  to  transfer  them  to  they  had  built  up  with  hearths  and  sanctified 

Havanna,  but  the  King  of  Spain  fortunately  pre-  with    altars    and    sacrifice    under    the    French 

vented  the  transfer,  and,  in  1786,  they  received  regime;  but,  by  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  May  22, 

three  important  accersions  to  their  numbers  from  1713,  the  country  was  ceded  by  France  to  Eng- 

France.     In  1793  the  King  of  Spain,  desirous  land.     By  the  treaty  they  were  guaranteed  the 

of  having  a  new  Episcopal  See  erected  expressly  right  to  remain  and  practice  their  religion,  but 

for  Louisiana,  ordered  the  retirement  of  Bishop  the  guarantee  was  made  with  apparent  fraud, 

Cyril.     In   1793  the  new  Diocese  of  Louisiana  subject  to  the  laws  of  England,  and  these  laws 

was  erected.   Right  Rev.  Penalver  y  Cardenas  was  did   not   permit    the    Catholic   worship.     Other 

appointed  first  Bishop  of  Louisiana,  and  he  ar-  guarantees,  however,  were  given  to  the  Acadiins 

rived  and  took  possession  of  his  See  in  July,  by  Queen  Anne  and  her  government.     They  re- 

I795-     He  was  truly  an  apostolic  man;  he  made  mained  in  religion  subject  to  ecclesiastical  jiiris- 

an  elaborate  report  of  the  condition  of  religion  diction  of  the  Bishop  of  Quebec.     It  is  now  cer- 

in  his  vast  Diocese,  and  issued  admirable  instruc-  tain  that  a  settled  plan  was  laid  for  expelling  the 

tions  to  the  clergy  aboiit  residing  in  their  parishes,  Acadians,  and  a  complicated  and  arbitrary  sys- 

the  teaching  of  Christian  doctrine,  administering  tern  of  discipline  was   adopted   as   a   prelude  to 


HISTORICAL   SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


Ixxv 


this.  There  is  good  ground  for  the  view  that 
has  been  taken,  that  they  were  proceeded  against 
under  English  statutes  hostile  to  Popish  Recu 
sants.  The  crime  of  their  expatriation  took  place 
in  1755  under  George  II.  The  Acadians  were 
brought  together  and  treacherously  seized,  dis 
armed,  held  as  prisoners,  and  forced  on  ship 
board  ;  the  women  and  children  were  forced  to 
leave  their  homes  behind  them  in  flames,  and 
were  marched  to  the  shore ;  the  cattle  were 
slaughtered,  the  crops  burned,  and  the  country 
devastated.  In  placing  them  in  the  ships,  fami 
lies  were  divided  and  separated ;  the  priests  were 
carried  off  as  prisoners  of  war.  The  whole 
number  of  the  unfortunate  Acadians  thus  torn 
from  their  homes  was  7,000,  of  whom  500 
escaped  to  the  woods  ;  500  were  left  upon 
the  shores  of  North  Carolina,  1,000  in  Vir 
ginia,  2,000  in  Maryland;  and  from  Maryland 
300  were  sent  to  Philadelphia,  200  to  New 
York,  300  to  Connecticut,  200  to  Boston,  and 


some  found  their  way  farther  south,  and  even 
as  far  as  the  French  colony  at  New  Orleans. 
Two  thousand  in  all  were  sent  to  Massachu 
setts,  and  New  Hampshire  refused  to  share 
the  burden  with  her  sister  province.  The  suffer 
ings  of  the  poor  and  innocent  Acadians  were 
intense,  for  they  were  without  clothing,  food  or 
means,  many  of  them  sick,  and  some  were  at 
the  point  of  death.  In  some  cases  more  than 
half  that  landed  at  a  given  place  died  in  a  short 
time.  In  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania  they  re 
ceived  the  consolations  of  their  religion.  They 
were  generally  scattered  and  lost  in  the  mass  of 
the  population,  some  wandered  back  to  Canada, 
some  escaped  to  the  West  Indies,  many  perished, 
and  before  many  years  there  was  scarcely  a  trace 
of  the  Acadians  left.  New  England  bigotry  co 
operated  with  English  policy  in  carrying  this 
cruel  and  criminal  act  into  execution — a  shame 
to  England — a  reproach  to  our  common  hu 
manity. 


Charles  Carroll,  of  Carrollton. 

PART   IV. 

THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH  DURING  THE  WAR  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 

Unanimity  of  Catholics  in  Supporting  the  Cause  of  Liberty— Causes  Depressing  Catholic  Interests— The  Quebec  Act— Anti-Catholic 
Prejudices— Legislation  Against  Catholics— Pope  Day  in  Boston :  its  Celebration  Stopped  by  Washington— Rev.  John  Carroll  Re 
turns  to  America — Catholics  in  the  Service  of  the  Country — Colonel  Moylan,  Commodore  John  Barry,  Captain  McGuire,  Colonel 
Doyle,  Father  Harding,  as  Patriots— Catholic  Indians  in  the  Army— Father  Gibault,  the  Patriot  Priest— Catholics  in  the  Western 
Country  Serve  the  Cause  of  Liberty— Canadian  Regiments— Catholic  France— Lafayette,  Rochambeau,  Armand,  Pulaski,  Dupon- 
ceau  and  DeGrasse— Spain  and  the  Catholic  Powers  Assist  America— Charles  Carroll,  of  Carrollton— Gov.  John  Sim  Lee,  of  Mary 
land,  Daniel  Carroll,  Thomas  Fitzsimmons,  Father  Carroll  and  Charles  Carroll,  of  Carrollton,  go  to  Canada  with  Benjamin  Frank 
lin  and  Samuel  Chase— Religious  Liberty  in  the  Federal  Constitution— Address  of  Catholics  to  Washington  and  his  Answer— Father 
Lewis,  Vicar-General — Father  Carroll,  Prefect-Apostolic — Troubles  in  St.  Peter's,  New  York — Catholics  in  Kentucky — Petition  for  a 
Bishop — See  of  Baltimore  Erected— Rev.  John  Carroll  Appointed  First  Bishop — His  Consecration — Arranges  for  Receiving  Sulpi- 
tians  from  Paris — Returns  to  America — Installation — His  Sermons. 


As  a  religious  body,  and  as  Catholic  citizens, 
we  have  just  cause  for  pride  at  the  part  taken 
by  Catholics  at  the  Revolutionary  period  in  aid 
and  support  of  the  struggle  for  our  National 
Independence.  In  estimating  this  it  is  necessary 
to  keep  in  view  the  smalluess  of  the  Catholic 
population  in  proportion  to  the  entire  population 
of  the  country,  which  was  in  the  proportion  of 
about  25,000  to  3,000,000;  and  out  of  thirteen 
colonies  only  two,  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania, 
possessed  any  appreciable  number  of  Catholic 

(btxvi) 


citizens.  At  the  same  time  we  must  avoid  the 
danger  of  exaggeration  or  of  an  over-estimate  of 
our  achievements  and  co-operation  in  the  great 
cause ;  for  where  a  treatise,  or  an  article,  or 
a  chapter  dwells  alone  on  the  part  taken  by 
Catholics  in  the  Revolutionary  struggle,  no 
mention  being  made  of  the  vast  proportions  of 
the  whole  national  contest,  it  would  seem  to 
appear  that  the  War  of  Independence  was  a 
Catholic  event  or  movement,  and  some  have  thus 
been  led  to  think  or  assert  that  without  the  co- 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


Ixxvii 


operation  of  the  Catholics  of  the  country  our 
independence  could  not  have  been  achieved.  We 
do  not  take  this  view.  But  what  we  do  claim  is 
that  the  Catholics  of  the  Revolution  were  singu 
larly  and  exceptionally  united  in  their  support 
of  the  national  cause,  more  so  than  the  members 
of  any  other  denomination;  the  Methodists 
espoused  the  tory  and  English  cause ;  the 
Episcopalians  were  signally  divided  and  a  large 
proportion  of  them  opposed  the  cause  of  inde 
pendence  ;  the  Quakers,  availing  themselves  of 
their  general  opposition  to  all  wars,  were  not 
with  us ;  and  the  other  sects  were  more  or  less 
divided ;  while  the  few  Catholics  who  espoused 
the  royal  cause  were  persons  of  no  position,  and 
could  almost  be  counted  on  one's  fingers.  Efforts 
of  the  English  government  in  1778  and  1779  to 
form  a  royal  regiment  of  Catholics  proved  an 
utter  failure.  The  same  feeling  in  favor  of 
independence  prevailed  among  the  French  resi 
dents  in  the  country  acquired  by  England  from 
France,  and  among  the  Catholic  Indians. 

There  were  several  causes  which  depressed 
Catholic  interests  in  America  at  the  time  of  the 
Revolution.  The  Catholic  body  of  Maryland 
had  been  outnumbered  by  the  growth  of  the 
Protestant  population,  and  reduced  to  a  condition 
secondary  in  influence  and  with  no  power  in  the 
government;  penal  laws  were  enacted  against 
their  religion.  The  triumph  of  Protestant  Eng 
land  over  Catholic  France  in  the  immense 
countries  extending  from  the  Great  Lakes  to  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  had  extinguished  the  influx  of 
Catholics  in  those  countries,  and  had  almost 
destroyed  Catholic  missions  and  ecclesiastical 
organization  and  progress  of  every  kind.  The 
suppression  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  in  Maryland 
and  Pennsylvania,  and  in  the  late  French  terri 
tories,  was  also  an  untoward  event  for  Catholics 
and  their  cause.  The  zealous  co-operation  of  the 
people  of  the  colonies  North  and  South  in  the  long 
struggle  between  England  and  France  had  always 
assumed  an  anti-Catholic  tone,  and  the  martyrdom 
of  Father  Rale  was  one  in  many  events  of  that 
character,  some  of  which  have  already  been 
mentioned  in  this  work.  The  dispersion  of  the 
Catholic  Acadians  and  the  inhospitable  treatment 
they  received  in  the  colonies  strengthened  the 
anti-Catholic  sentiment.  In  the  colonial  legis 
lation,  generally,  Catholics  were  proscribed  and 


placed  at  a  disadvantage.  They  were  not  gener 
ally  allowed  to  hold  a  commission  as  officers  of  the 
militia.  A  master-stroke  of  English  policy,  the 
passage  in  1774  of  the  Quebec  Act,  by  which 
the  Catholics  of  Canada  were  guaranteed  the 
free  exercise  of  the  Catholic  faith  and  worship, 
met  with  such  a  reception  from  Americans  as 
greatly  to  embarrass  the  Catholic  question  in  the 
colonies  and  in  the  war.  It  was  this  wise  policy 
on  the  part  of  England  on  the  one  side  and  the 
unwise  action  of  the  Americans  in  denouncing 
it  on  the  other,  that  saved  Canada  for  England 
and  lost  it  for  America. 

It  is  a  singular  and  important   circumstance 
that  at  the  outset  of  the  American  Revolution 
Catholics,  the  most  inconsiderable  religious  body 
in  point  of  numbers,  and  the  most  quiet  and  un 
obtrusive  in  their  lives,  and  generally  laboring 
under  some  political  and  civil  disqualifications, 
should  find  their  religion  become,  by  no  act  of 
theirs,  the  leading  public  excitement  of  the  day. 
Justice  as  well  as  policy  led  Great  Britain  to 
enact  the  famous  Quebec  Act,  which  had  passed 
both    Houses   of   Parliament   and   received   the 
King's  signature  on  June  22,  1774,  and  by  its 
provisions  the  Catholics  of  Canada  and  of  our 
more  northern,  northwestern  and  southwestern 
territories,  then  lately  ceded  by  France  to  Eng 
land,    including   Northern    Ohio    and    Indiana, 
Michigan,  Illinois,  Wisconsin  and  the  extensive 
coiintry  known  as  Louisiana,  were  accorded  the 
free  exercise  of  their  faith  and  public  service, 
and  the  same  temporal  means  of  maintenance  as 
they  had  enjoyed  under  French  regime.     The 
Canadians  and  our  own  Catholic  people  living  in 
the  lately  ceded  French  territories  found  great 
relief  and  rejoiced  in  this  great  act    of  public 
justice.     It  awakened  a  large  share  of  Protestant 
and  bigoted  opposition  in  England ;  but  the  ar 
guments  and  eloquence  of  Lord  North  and  others 
in  the  House  of  Lords,  and  of  Edmund  Burke 
and  others  in  the  House  of  Commons,  carried  it 
through.       It   unfortunately   awakened   a  deep 
feeling  of  resentment  among  all  classes  in  this 
country ;    but   it   also    became    the    subject   of 
official    action    in    Congress.       The    address  of 
Congress   to   the   people   of  Great    Britain,    on 
September    5,    1774,    thus    alludes    to  this  Act 
of  Religious  Liberty :  "  We  think  the  Legisla 
ture  of  Great  Britain  is  not  authorized  by  the 


Ixxviii 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


Constitution  to  establish  a  religion,  fraught  with 
sanguinary  and  impious  tenets,  or  to  erect  an 
arbitrary  form  of  government  in  any  quarter  of 
the  globe."  The  same  document  further  ex 
presses  the  fear  that  the  Catholics  of  Canada 
might  "  be  fit  instruments  in  the  hands  of  power 
to  reduce  the  ancient  free  Protestant  colonies  to 
the  same  state  of  slavery  with  themselves." 
Among  the  resolutions  adopted  by  Congress  on 
October  14,  1774,  enumerating  the  grievances  of 
the  American  colonies,  is  specially  mentioned 
the  passage  of  the  Quebec  Act  "  for  establishing 
the  Roman  Catholic  religion  in  the  province  of 
Quebec." 

It  cannot  be  supposed  that  Congress,  the  rep 
resentative  body  of  the  nation,  did  not  reflect  the 
general  views  of  the  people.  Many  instances  of 
popular  feeling  and  demonstration  could  be  men 
tioned  to  show  this,  but  we  will  merely  allude  in 
passing  to  the  raising  of  a  flag  in  New  York 
bearing  the  inscription,  "No  Popery;"  the  at 
tempted  burning  of  the  Pope  in  effigy  at  Boston, 
in  fulfilment  of  what  Bostonians  regarded  as  a 
time-honored  custom ;  the  breaking  up  by  vio 
lence  of  a  Catholic  school  in  Baltimore,  and  the 
forcible  expulsion  of  a  Catholic  family  from  Del 
aware  by  zealous  Protestants.  The  new  Consti 
tutions  of  several  of  the  States  manifested  the 
same  unjust  sentiments  in  opposition  to  religious 
equality  of  all  denominations  before  the  law. 
In  New  York  all  persons  applying  for  natural 
ization  were  required  to  take  an  oath  to  "  abjure 
and  renounce  all  allegiance  and  subjection  to  all 
and  every  foreign  king,  prince,  potentate  and 
State  in  all  matters  ecclesiastical  and  civil " — a 
requirement  evidently  aimed  at  Catholics,  and 
which  effectually  excluded  them  from  becoming 
citizens.  In  Massachusetts,  although  there  was 
a  formal  equality  of  all  religions,  the  Constitu 
tion  substantially  established  the  favorite  reli 
gion  of  the  Puritans,  Congregationalism,  and 
nullified  the  aforesaid  equality  by  authorizing 
taxes  for  the  support  of  Protestant  teachers. 
The  Constitution  of  New  Hampshire,  1776,  con 
taining  no  inequality  in  respect  to  religions, 
yielded  in  1792  to  a  Constitution  which  required 
that  the  Governor,  counsellors,  Secretary  and 
representatives  should  be  Protestants,  and  pro 
vided  for  the  support  of  the  Protestant  religion 
and  its  teachers.  In  New  Jersey  the  Protestant 


sects  were  guaranteed  the  freedom  of  their  reli 
gion,  but  Catholics  were  excluded  from  office  by 
a  Constitution  enacted  in  the  same  year  with  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  The  Constitution 
of  North  Carolina  enacted  in  the  same  year, 
while  declaring  the  general  principles  of  equal 
ity  of  all  religions  before  the  law,  excluded  from 
public  office  all  such  as  denied  the  truth  of  the 
Protestant  religion.  The  Constitution  of  South 
Carolina  established  the  Protestant  religion  as 
the  religion  of  the  State,  and  excluded  Catholics 
from  all  offices.  In  Connecticut  Congregation 
alism  was  by  law  the  religion  of  the  State,  and 
in  Rhode  Island,  though  the  constitutional  clause 
refusing  religious  toleration  was  repealed,  there, 
too,  as  in  Connecticut,  old  statutes  discriminated 
against  Catholics.  Thus  in  all  the  States,  ex 
cept  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  Delaware  and 
Virginia,  Catholics  were  discriminated  against 
either  by  Constitution  or  by  laws. 

There  was  one  great  mind  and  soul  that  rose 
above  all  such  petty  and  unjust  prejudices  against 
Catholics,  though  educated  under  the  influence 
of  customary.  Protestant  prejudices  and  adhering 
to  the  Protestant  religion ;  one  who  manfully  dis 
carded  such  sentiments,  and,  still  more,  used  all 
power  and  influence  against  the  public  manifes 
tations  of  religious  bigotry  in  others :  this  was 
GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  It  happened  that  Wash 
ington  was  in  command  at  Boston  on  November 
5,  1774,  when  the  enlightened  Bostonians  cele 
brated  "  Pope  Day  "  according  to  an  old  custom. 
The  celebration  of  the  anniversary  of  the  dis 
covery  of  the  Gunpowder  Plot  against  the  life  of 
King  James  I.,  known  in  England  as  Guy 
Fawkes'  Day,  had  in  Boston  been  changed  to 
"  Pope  Day,"  on  which  occasion  the  effigy  of  the 
Pope  was  mockingly  carried  through  the  streets 
of  New  England  cities,  and  even  in  more  south 
ern  localities,  and  finally  burned  amid  the 
plaudits  of  the  "intelligent  "  people.  Washing 
ton,  having  heard  that  it  was  intended  to  observe 
"  Pope  Day  "  by  the  Puritans  in  his  army,  was 
indignant  at  such  bigotry  and  impudence ;  the 
commander-in-chief,  on  the  very  day  itself,  No 
vember  5,  issued  a  peremptory  order  forbidding 
the  silly  insult  to  the  religion  of  his  fellow-citi 
zens  and  fellow-soldiers.  From  that  day  the 
celebration  of  "  Pope  Day "  was  abandoned  in 
Boston  and  everywhere  in  America.  A  Boston- 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


Ixxix 


ian  had  on  a  previous  occasion,  with  his  sword, 
cut  the  ancient  Cross  of  St.  George  from  the 
British  flag  in  the  streets  of  Boston,  a  flag  which 
the  best  armies  and  fleets  of  Europe  had  followed 
to  victory  for  centuries. 

The  sympathies  of  the  entire  Catholic  body, 
priests  and  people,  were  with  the  cause  of  Amer 
ican  independence.     One  of  the  first  and  most 
prominent    evidences    of  this    was    the    prompt 
return   of  Rev.  John   Carroll   from   England  to 
America,  with   faculty  from  the  Vicar-Apostolic 
of  London,  as  soon  as  he  saw  there  was  no  hope 
of  reconciliation  between  the  colonies  and  the 
mother  country  and   that   war   was    inevitable. 
He  arrived  at  Richmond  on  June  26,  1774,  cast 
his  lot  with  his  countrymen  in  the  approaching 
struggle,  the  result  of  which  was  then  doubtful, 
and  assumed  the  care  of  the  parish   of  Rock 
Creek,  Maryland,  his  venerable  mother's  place 
of  residence.     On  all  fitting  occasions  he  cast  his 
influence  in  favor  of  the  young  and  struggling 
nation.     It  is  from  his  written  statement,  as  well 
as  from  the  muster  rolls  of  the  army,  that  we 
learn  that  "  the  American  army  swarmed  with 
Roman  Catholic  soldiers,"  and  that  "  they  con 
curred  with  perhaps  greater  unanimity  than  any 
other  body  of  men  in  recommending  and  pro 
moting  that  government   from  whose  influence 
America  anticipates  all  the  blessings  of  justice, 
peace,  plenty,  good  order,  and  civil  and  religious 
liberty."     Catholics  joined  the  American  army 
and    served    in    the    militia   in    great    numbers. 
Under  the  colonial  laws  generally  no  Catholic 
could   hold   a  commission   in   the   militia  as  an 
officer,  a   circumstance   which   accounts   for  the 
fewness  of  prominent  Catholics  experienced  in 
military  affairs  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  but 
in    Maryland  and  Pennsylvania  the  regiments 
swarmed  with  Catholic  soldiers.     In  the  Penn 
sylvania  State  Line,  Colonel  Stephen  Moylan, 
brother  of  Bishop  Moylan,  of  Cork,  served  as  an 
officer  under  Washington  at  the  siege  of  Boston, 
won  the  confidence  and  personal  friendship  of 
the  commander-in-chief,  and  in   1777  was  made 
a  colonel  of  cavalry.     Commodore  Barry  in  the 
navy  rendered  most  valuable  and  gallant  services 
in  several  naval  engagements  ;  the  British  flag 
was  several  times  lowered  to  his  victorious  ship, 
the  "  Lexington  ;  "  he  was  singularly  and  almost 
uniformly  victorious,  and  has  been  regarded  in 


history  as  the  founder  of  the  American  navy. 
The  gallant  services  in  the  Pennsylvania  State 
Line  of  Colonel  Doyle  and  Captain  Michael 
McGuire  deserve  mention.  In  the  Maryland 


\ 


Commodore  John  Barry. 

Line,  Washington's  favorite  soldiers,  the  names 
of  old  Catholic  families  occur  often  on  the  mus 
ter-rolls.  All  the  Catholic  clergy  of  Maryland 
and  Pennsylvania,  members  of  the  late  Society 
of  Jesus,  threw  their  influence  in  favor  of  the 
struggling  colonies  ;  the  public  and  patriotic  ser 
vices  of  Rev.  John  Carroll  we  shall  particularly 
notice  in  their  order ;  Father  Robert  Harding  at 
Philadelphia  was  a  pronounced  patriot,  and  his 
activity  for  the  good  cause  received  special  no 
tice  in  the  chronicles  of  the  day.  The  Penob- 
scots,  Catholic  Indians  of  Maine,  gave  their 
adherence  and  services  to  the  patriotic  cause, 
and,  led  by  their  chief,  the  brave  and  faithful 
Orono,  who  held  a  Continental  commission,  ren 
dered  good  service  during  the  war.  So,  too,  with 
the  Catholic  Indians  in  the  late  French  terri 
tories  of  the  Illinois.  The  Rev.  Peter  Gibault, 
Catholic  pastor  at  Kaskaskia,  rendered  important 
service  to  the  Continental  cause.  He  went  from 
village  to  village  exhorting  the  French  and  In 
dian  members  of  his  flock  to  adhere  to  the  cause 
of  the  struggling  colonies.  He  celebrated  the 


Ixxx 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH—INTRODUCTORY. 


first  Fourth  of  July  in  the  late  French  territory 
of  the  Illinois  at  Kaskaskia,  and  when  the  Kas- 
kaskia  company,  under  Captain  Charlevoix, 
joined  the  forces  sent  to  reduce  Vincennes,  he 
bestowed  the  blessing  of  the  Church  on  the  men 
and  the  cause.  Another  French  company  of 
Catholics  under  Captain  Vigo  also  rendered  gal 
lant  services  to  the  patriot  cause.  In  1 780,  when 
Detroit  was  in  the  hands  of  the  English,  among 
the  most  gallant  of  the  brave  men  sent  to  recover 
the  place  was  the  Catholic  Captain  La  Balme, 
who  fell  heroically  in  the  brave  attack.  On  land 
and  sea,  wherever  a  Catholic  was  found,  his 
bravery  was  conspicuous.  In  Canada  the  Cath 
olics  sympathized  with  the  American  cause,  and 
two  Canadian  regiments  were  formed,  composed 
of  Catholics,  and  one  of  them  was  accompanied 
by  a  Catholic  chaplain,  Rev.  Francis  Louis  C.  de 
Lotbiniere,  who  held  a  chaplain's  commission 
from  the  Continental  Congress.  But  the  un 
friendly  sentiments  expressed  by  Congress  in 
relation  to  the  Quebec  Act  and  against  the  relig 
ion  of  the  Canadians  reversed  the  tide  and  turned 
Canadian  sentiment  against  us :  Montgomery 
was  defeated,  and  Canada  was  English  instead 
of  American.  But  the  Catholic  regiments  from 
Canada  were  regularly  incorporated  into  the 
Continental  army,  and  fought  through  to  the 
end  of  the  war  and  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis 
at  Yorktown.  The  names  of  such  gallant  of 
ficers  as  Captains  Guillot,  Loiseau  and  Menard 
should  be  mentioned. 

The  plan  of  this  work  would  not  include  any 
detailed  account  of  the  invaluable  services  ren 
dered  by  Catholic  France  and  all  the  Catholic 
Powers  of  Europe  to  the  cause  of  American  in 
dependence  both  by  their  armies  and  their  fleets. 
This  belongs  to  the  general  history  of  the  United 
States.  But  many  Catholic  military  and  scien 
tific  men  and  officers  at  the  outset  of  the  struggle 
volunteered  their  services  to  Congress,  and 
brought  to  our  cause  the  skill  and  experience 
acquired  in  European  scientific  schools  and  on 
European  battle-fields.  To  France  we  are  chiefly 
indebted  for  most  important  aid  and  support  in 
our  struggle.  While  Hessians  and  other  recruits 
and  soldiers  were  drawn  by  England  from  Prot 
estant  countries,  especially  from  Germany,  all 
the  Catholic  nations  manifested  their  sympathy 
for  the  American  cause.  France  sent  over  not 


only  her  armies  and  fleets,  but  also  aided  Con 
gress  with  money  and  war  supplies.     Spain,  too, 
sent  over  financial  and  warlike  aid.     The  Catho 
lic  States  of  Italy  and  the  Catholic  princes  of 


Lafayette. 

Germany,  by  their  opposition,  put  an  end  to 
England's  drawing  recruits  from  Protestant  Ger 
many.  Among  the  European  Catholic  heroes 
who  fought  for  our  cause,  we  should  mention 
Lafayette,  Rochambeau,  Armand,  Pulaski,  Du- 
ponceau  of  the  land  forces,  and  Count  De  Grasse, 
of  the  French  navy.  Not  only  did  these  and 
others  fight  side  by  side  with  Continentals,  but 
many  of  them  rendered  invaluable  services  in 
drilling  and  disciplining  the  new  Continental  re 
cruits  and  in  making  soldiers  of  militia-men. 

Educated  with  traditional  prejudices  against 
Catholics  and  their  faith  the  American  people 
saw  cause  for  thinking  better  of  them,  both  in 
the  loyalty  and  services  of  American  Catholics 
and  in  the  invaluable  aid  rendered  to  us  by 
Catholic  countries,  and  again  by  being  brought 
in  contact  with  cultivated  and  able  military  and 
naval  officers,  and  with  pious,  learned  and  accom 
plished  priests,  who  came  as  chaplains  in  the 
French  army  and  fleet.  These  chaplains  gave 
Catholic  services  at  the  posts  where  they  were  on 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


Ixxxi 

French    and    such   Americans   as     Spanish  squadrons,  assisted  with  land  forces  the 
A  change  of  sentiment  came  over     siege  of  the  place,  compelled  its  surrender  and 

f\  l^  f^  i -.  4- ~.  ^  ^,  4-       4-1^  __1  1  -t  t 


duty   for   the 

might  attend. 

the 

bration  of  "  Pope  Day  "  at  Boston,  in  1775,  with 

a  procession  in  the  same  city  at  a  later  date, 


11-  •     j          /~\  i  ,  — r  "-J    ouiiciiuci.  Him 

public  mind.     Contrast  the  attempted  cele-     broke  the  power  of  England  at  the  south.     So 

I  /~v*i      s\i-     '       Tj/-»r-v£i      Tin  -w-r    D     *->  4-       "D  ^.^.4-^.-  *  j  1  .1  J 


Jrm 


Comte  De  Rochambeau. 

wherein  the  selectmen  of  Boston  followed  the 
crucifix  through  its  streets.  A  similar  scene 
was  witnessed  at  Newport,  and  at  the  celebration 
of  Mass  and  chanting  the  Te  Deum  at  Philadel 
phia  after  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis.  The  ser 
vices  rendered  to  our  cause  by  Catholic  Spain 
have  scarcely  been  sufficiently  appreciated. 
While  England  was  intriguing  for  the  alliance 
of  Russia  and  the  privilege  of  enlisting  in 
Russia  soldiers  to  fight  against  us,  Spain  in 
duced  the  European  Powers  to  assume  an  armed 
neutrality,  thus  defeating  England's  schemes  in 
Russia,  the  latter  country  joining  the  other  neu 
tral  nations.  Spain  also  offered  to  mediate  be 
tween  England  and  her  colonies.  Later,  Spain 
declared  war  against  England.  In  Louisiana  the 
Spanish  authorities  extended  sympathy  and  aid 
to  our  cause  by  protecting  and  aiding  our  ships ; 
the  Spanish  commander  there  besieged  Baton 
Rouge,  then  in  possession  of  the  English,  and 
obtained  its  surrender.  Pensacola  was  garrisoned 
by  English  soldiers  and  Hessians.  The  Spanish 
commander,  Galvez,  joining  the  French  and 


too,  the  co-operation  of  the  French  citizens  of  our 
northwestern  and  western  territories  was  spon 
taneous,  gallant  and  serviceable.  While  Prot 
estant  sentiment  generally  in  Europe  inclined 
against  us,  every  Catholic  impulse  was  in  our 
favor. 

Prominent  among  the  Catholic  laity  was 
Charles  Carroll,  who  had  already  gained  reputa 
tion  as  a  patriot  at  the  outset  of  the  controversy 
by  triumphantly  defending  the  rights  and  free 
dom  of  Americans,  under  the  title  of  "  First  Cit 
izen,"  against  Daniel  Dulany,  then  the  ablest 
lawyer  in  Maryland,  if  not  in  the  whole  country, 
a  friend  of  the  royal  cause,  who  wrote  under  the 
title  of  "Second  Citizen."  He  was  a  man  of 
large  wealth  and  had  given  a  church  site  in  Bal 
timore,  and  was  a  liberal  benefactor  of  the  Church. 


Pulaski. 

Mr.  Charles  Carroll  was  also  one  of  the  signers 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  the  last 
survivor  of  that  illustrious  body  of  citizens  who 
had  put  their  names  to  the  immortal  Charter  of 
Liberty.  When  he  was  about  to  sign  his  name 
to  the  Declaration,  some  one  remarked :  "  There 
go  several  millions  :  but  there  are  several  of  the 
same  name."  Mr.  Carroll,  who  had  by  this  time 
signed  his  name,  in  order  that  no  doubt  might 
exist  as  to  which  Charles  Carroll  it  was,  added  to 


Ixxxii 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


his  signature  the  name  of  his  estate  and  resi 
dence,  "  of  Carrollton,"  and  few  names  in  Amer 
ican  annals  are  more  distinguished  than  that  of 
Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton.  Governor  John 
Sim  Lee,  governor  of  Maryland,  was  also  a  promi 
nent  Catholic  patriot  and  promoter  of  the  success 


Comte  De  Grasse. 


of  the  War  of  Independence.  Also  Daniel  Car 
roll,  a  brother  of  Father  Carroll,  was  a  prominent 
patriot  both  in  public  and  private  life.  Thomas 
Sim  Lee,  Daniel  Carroll  and  Thomas  Fitzsim- 
mons  were  members  of  the  Continental  Congress. 
In  1776  Congress,  no  doubt  feeling  that  se 
rious  mistakes  had  been  made  in  respect  to  Can 
ada,  and  especially  in  the  hostility  shown  to  the 
religion  of  the  Canadians  in  the  discussion  of  the 
Quebec  Act,  sent  an  embassy  to  Canada  to  secure 
their  alliance  or  neutrality.  This  embassy  was 
composed  of  four  eminent  citizens,  two  of  whom 
were  Catholics.  The  Commissioners  were  Ben 
jamin  Franklin,  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton, 
Samuel  Chase  and  Rev.  John  Carroll.  The 
journey  to  Canada  was  made  in  winter,  and  it 
was  no  small  undertaking  to  meet  the  exposure, 
fatigue  and  inconveniences  of  such  a  journey 
before  railroads  were  introduced.  The  Commis 
sioners  found  the  Canadians  content  with  their 
condition  under  English  rule.  The  Quebec  Act 
gave  them  all  they  could  demand  for  their  relig 
ion,  and  on  the  other  hand  the  sentiments  of  hos 
tility  to  the  Catholic  faith  which  had  been  man 


ifested  in  Congress  and  among  the  American 
people,  repelled  the  Canadians.  Dr.  Carroll  en 
deavored  to  plead  our  cause  with  the  Canadian 
clergy  as  well  as  he  could,  but  he  found  his  mis 
sion  fruitless.  He  and  Dr.  Franklin  returned  to 
Philadelphia  in  May,  travelling  from  Albany  in 
a  private  carriage.  He  resumed  his  missionary 
labors  at  Rock  Creek. 

Having   given   some  account  of  the  various 
State  Constitutions,  most  of  which  were  adopted 
early  in  the  Revolutionary  struggle,  in  so  far  as 
they  affected  religious  interests,  a  similar  refer 
ence  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  is 
equally  a  part  of    our  task.      In    an    age    and 
country  which  seemed  to  demand  religious  test 
oaths,  as  was  the  case  then  in  England,  had  been 
the  case  in  most  of  the  colonies  prior  to  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  and  so  continued 
at  this  time  in  the  State  of  New  York,  the  new 
Federal  Constitution  simply  required  Senators 
and   Representatives    and   other  officers  of  the 
general  government  to  take  an  oath  to  support 
the  Constitution.     But  this  was  not  deemed  suf 
ficient;  an  addition  was  made  to  this  clause,  Arti 
cle  VI.,  section  3,  so  as  to  prevent  Congress  from 
ever  requiring  a  religious  test  oath,  as  follows : 
"  But  no  religious  test  shall  ever  be  required  as  a 
qualification  to  any  office  or  public  trust  under 
the  United  States."     Upon  general  principles  of 
constitutional  law  as  applicable  to  the  United 
States,  all  governmental  power  rested  with  the 
States,  and  the  Constitution  was  simply  a  dele 
gation  of  some  of  those  powers  to  the  general 
government.    It  was  moreover  expressly  provided 
that  all  powers  not  given  by  the  Constitution  to 
the  general  government  were  still  reserved  to  the 
States.     Congress  therefore  could  not  have  legis 
lated  on  the  subject  of  religion,  but  the  States 
could.     But  this  was  not  deemed  sufficient,  and 
the  convention  adopted  as  the  first  amendment  to 
the  original  Constitution  as  reported  the  follow 
ing  clause  prohibiting  Congress  from  doing  so,  a 
clause  which  prevents  our  ever  having  a  national 
religion,  while  however  it  would  require  an  ex 
press  similar  provision  in  the  Constitutions  of 
the  States  to  prevent  the  States  from  establishing 
State  religions  in  the  States  :  "  Congress  shall 
make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment  of  re 
ligion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof." 
These  provisions  elicited  some  opposition,  both 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


Ixxxiii 


in  State  legislatures  and  among  the  people  :  the 
Constitution  was  not  unanimously  adopted,  and 
it  was  several  years  before  its  adoption  by  some 
States.  It  would  have  been  more  in  keeping 
with  the  spirit  of  the  age  and  country  generally 


Daiiiel  Carroll. 

if  the  above  prohibitory  clause  had  also  been 
made  to  apply  to  the  States  as  well  as  to  the 
general  government. 

After  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  and  the 
election  of  Washington  as  first  President,  the 
Catholics  of  the  United  States,  through  Rev. 
John  Carroll,  who  was  then  already  elected  first 
Catholic  Bishop,  though  not  consecrated,  Charles 
Carroll  of  Carrollton,  and  Daniel  Carroll  of 
Maryland,  Dominick  Lynch  of  New  York  and 
Thomas  Fitzsimmons  of  Philadelphia,  represent 
ing  the  Catholic  clergy  and  laity  of  the  United 
States,  in  March,  1790,  presented  an  address  to 
President  Washington,  and  received  from  him  an 
answer,  honorable  alike  to  Washington  and. those 
he  addressed.  The  address  and  answer  are  as 
follows : 

THE   ADDRESS. 

"  SIR  :  We  have  been  long  impatient  to  testify 


our  joy  and  unbounded  confidence  on  your  being 
called  by  a  unanimous  vote  to  the  first  station  of 
a  country,  in  which  that  unanimity  could  not 
have  been  obtained  without  the  previous  merit  of 
unexampled  services,  of  eminent  wisdom  and  un 
blemished  virtue.  Our  congratulations  have  not 
reached  you  sooner  because  our  scattered  situa 
tions  prevented  the  communication  and  collecting 
of  those  sentiments  which  warmed  every  breast. 
But  delay  has  furnished  us  with  the  opportunity 
not  only  of  presaging  the  happiness  to  be  ex 
pected  under  your  administration,  but  of  bearing 
testimony  to  that  which  we  experience.  It  is 
your  peculiar  talent,  in  war  and  in  peace,  to 
aiford  security  to  those  who  commit  their  protec 
tion  into  your  hands.  In  war  you  shield  them 
from  the  ravages  of  armed  hostility,  in  peace  you 
establish  public  tranquillity  by  the  justice  and 
moderation  not  less  than  by  the  vigor  of  your 
government.  By  example  as  well  as  by  vigilance 
you  extend  the  influence  of  laws  on  the  manners 
of  our  fellow-citizens.  You  encourage  respect 
for  religion,  and  inculcate,  by  words  and  actions, 
that  principle  on  which  the  welfare  of  nations  so 
much  depends — that  a  superintending  Providence 
governs  the  events  of  the  world  and  watches  over 
the  conduct  of  men.  Your  exalted  maxims  and 
unwearied  attention  to  the  moral  and  physical 
improvement  of  your  country  have  produced  al 
ready  the  happiest  effects.  Under  your  adminis 
tration  America  is  animated  with  zeal  for  the 
attainment  and  encouragement  of  useful  litera 
ture  ;  she  improves  agriculture,  extends  her  com 
merce,  and  acquires  with  foreign  nations  a  dig 
nity  unknown  to  her  before.  From  these  happy 
events,  in  which  none  can  feel  a  warmer  interest 
than  ourselves,  we  derive  additional  pleasure  by 
recollecting  that  you,  Sir,  have  been  the  princi 
pal  instrument  to  effect  so  rapid  a  change  in  our 
political  situation.  This  prospect  of  national 
prosperity  is  peculiarly  pleasing  to  us  on  another 
account,  because  whilst  our  country  preserves  her 
freedom  and  independence,  we  shall  have  a  well- 
founded  title  to  claim  from  her  justice  the  equal 
rights  of  citizenship  as  the  price  of  our  blood 
spilt  tinder  your  eyes,  and  of  our  common  exer 
tions  for  her  defence  under  your  auspicious  con 
duct — rights  rendered  more  dear  to  us  by  the 
remembrance  of  former  hardships.  When  we 
pray  for  the  preservation  of  them  where  they 


Ixxxiv 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH-  -INTRODUCTORY. 


have  been  granted,  and  expect  the  full  extension 
of  them  from  the  justice  of  those  States  which 
restrict  them — when  we  solicit  the  protection  of 
Heaven  over  our  common  country,  we  neither 
omit,  nor  can  omit,  recommending  your  preserva 
tion  to  the  singular  care  of  Divine  Providence, 
because  we  conceive  that  no  human  means  are  so 
available  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  United 
States  as  the  prolongation  of  your  health  and 
life,  in  which  are  included  the  energy  of  your 
example,  the  wisdom  of  your  counsels  and  the 
persuasive  eloquence  of  your  virtues. 

"  In  behalf  of  the  Roman  Catholic  clergy, 

"J.  CARROLL. 
"  In  behalf  of  the  Roman  Catholic  laity, 

"  CHARLES  CARROLL,  of  Carrollton, 

"  DANIEL  CARROLL, 

"  THOMAS  FITZSIMMONS, 

"  DOMINICK  L/YNCH." 

THE  ANSWER. 

"  GENTLEMEN :  While  I  now  receive  with  much 
satisfaction  your  congratulations  on  my  being 
called  by  a  unanimous  vote  to  the  first  station  of 
my  country,  I  cannot  but  duly  notice  your  polite 
ness  in  offering  an  apology  for  the  unavoidable 
delay.  As  that  delay  has  given  you  an  oppor 
tunity  of  realizing,  instead  of  anticipating,  the 
benefits  of  the  general  government,  you  will  do 
me  the  justice  to  believe  that  your  testimony  of 
the  increase  of  the  public  prosperity  enhances 
the  pleasure  which  I  would  otherwise  have  ex 
perienced  from  your  affectionate  address.  I  feel 
that  my  conduct  in  war  and  peace  has  met  with 
more  general  approbation  than  could  reasonably 
be  expected ;  and  I  find  myself  disposed  to  con 
sider  that  fortunate  circumstance,  in  a  great 
degree,  resulting  from  the  able  support  and 
extraordinary  candor  of  my  fellow-citizens  of  all 
denominations.  The  prospect  of  national  pros 
perity  now  before  us  is  truly  animating,  and 
ought  to  excite  the  exertions  of  all  good  men  to 
establish  and  secure  the  happiness  of  their 
country  in  the  permanent  duration  of  its  freedom 
and  independence.  America,  under  the  smiles  of 
a  Divine  Providence,  the  protection  of  a  good 
government,  and  the  cultivation  of  manners, 
morals  and  piety,  cannot  fail  of  attaining  an  un 
common  degree  of  eminence  in  literature,  com 
merce,  agriculture,  improvements  at  home  and 


respectability  abroad.  As  mankind  become  more 
liberal,  they  will  be  more  apt  to  allow  that  all 
those  who  conduct  themselves  as  worthy  mem 
bers  of  the  community  are  equally  entitled  to  the 
protection  of  civil  government.  I  hope  ever  to 
see  America  among  the  foremost  nations  in 
examples  of  j  ustice  and  liberality ;  and  I  pre 
sume  that  your  fellow-citizens  will  not  forget  the 
patriotic  part  which  you  took  in  the  accomplish 
ment  of  their  revolution  and  the  establishment 
of  their  government,  or  the  important  assistance 
which  they  received  from  a  nation  in  which  the 
Roman  Catholic  faith  is  professed.  I  thank  you, 
gentlemen,  for  your  kind  concern  for  me.  While 
my  life  and  health  shall  continue,  in  whatever 
situation  I  may  be,  it  shall  be  my  constant  en 
deavor  to  justify  the  favorable  sentiments  which 
you  are  pleased  to  express  of  my  conduct ;  and 
may  the  members  of  your  society  in  America, 
animated  alone  by  the  pure  spirit  of  Christianity, 
and  still  conducting  themselves  as  the  faithful 
subjects  of  our  free  government,  enjoy  every 
temporal  and  spiritual  felicity. 

"  G.  WASHINGTON." 

On  the  suppression  of  the  Society  of  Jesus, 
there  were  nineteen  Fathers  who  continued  to 
conduct  the  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania  Missions 
as  secular  priests.  Bishop  Challoner,  of  London, 
had  appointed  Father  John  Lewis,  one  of  their 
number,  his  Vicar-General,  and  he  contimied  to 
discharge  the  duties  of  this  office  to  the  death  of 
the  Bishop,  in  1781,  and  every  father  remained 
at  his  post.  From  the  outbreak  of  hostilities 
little  or  no  intercourse  could  be  held  with  the 
London  ecclesiastical  authorities.  Right  Rev. 
James  Talbot  succeeded  Bishop  Challoner  in 
1781,  as  Vicar- Apostolic  of  London,  but  he  held 
no  intercourse  with  the  American  Church  and 
exercised  no  jurisdiction  over  it  or  the  clergy  ; 
even  refusing  faculties  to  Fathers  John  Boone 
and  Henry  Pile,  of  the  Maryland  clergy,  whom 
the  war  had  prevented  from  returning  to  America. 
Even  Rome  knew  but  little  of  the  American 
Church,  when  Fathers  Boone  and  Pile  awakened 
some  interest  in  it  by  requesting  from  the  Propa 
ganda  the  faculties  which  Bishop  Talbot  had 
refused.  The  American  clergy  were  content  to 
continue  their  good  work  under  the  direction  of 
one  of  their  own  number  acting  as  their  superior, 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


Ixxxv 


nor,  and  so  matters  continued  until  peace  was 
declared  in  1783,  and  the  United  States  were 
recognized  among  the  nations  of  the  earth. 
When  the  clergy  assembled  at  White  Marsh  on 
June  27,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Lewis  joined  in  the 
meeting,  which  was  attended  by  Fathers  John 
Lewis,  John  Carroll,  John  Ashton,  Charles 
Sewell,  Bernard  Diderick,  Sylvester  Boarman 
and  Leonard  Neale ;  Fathers  Louis  Roels,  Igna 
tius  Matthews  and  John  Bolton  being  represented 
by  Father  Neale.  The  principal  result  of  this 
and  other  meetings  of  the  clergy,  besides  dis 
tricting  the  missions  and  regulating  some  mat 
ters  of  ecclesiastical  discipline,  was  a  petition  to 
Rome  for  the  appointment  of  Father  Lewis  as 
Superior,  with  power  to  administer  confirmation, 
impart  faculties  to  priests,  and  bless  chalices.  In 
the  meantime  a  plan  had  been  originated  by  the 
French  minister  at  Philadelphia  for  the  appoint 
ment  as  Bishop  of  some  French  ecclesiastic 
who  should  reside  in  France  and  govern  the 
American  Church  from  abroad.  The  Papal 
Nuncio  at  Paris  and  Dr.  Franklin,  then  repre 
senting  the  United  States  in  France,  were  ap 
proached  on  the  subject.  The  matter  got  before 
Congress  in  secret  session,  but  that  body  declined 
to  act  or  speak,  as  it  was  a  matter  reserved  to  the 
States.  While  Father  Carroll  and  all  the  clergy 
favored  the  appointment  of  Father  Lewis  as  local 
Superior,  they  all  opposed  the  plan  for  the 
appointment  of  a  Bishop  from  France  to  govern 
the  Church  in  America,  when  they  discovered  it. 
The  result  of  this  long  continued  affair  was  that 
Rome  herself  took  the  matter  in  hand,  and  by 
decree  of  June  9,  1784,  appointed  the  Very 
Rev.  John  Carroll,  who  had  been  recommended 
for  the  position  by  Dr.  Franklin,  Prefect- Apos 
tolic,  with  power  to  administer  confirmation,  and 
thus  all  official  dependence  of  the  American 
Church  on  the  Vicar-Apostolic  of  London  ceased. 
In  the  meantime  Father  Carroll  felt  called 
upon  to  defend  in  a  public  document  the  cause 
of  the  Catholics  and  their  faith,  and  did  so  with 
great  ability.  Rev.  Charles  Henry  Wharton,  a 
former  member  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  had  re 
turned  to  the  United  States  from  England,  where 
he  had  served  as  chaplain  to  the  Catholic  con 
gregation  at  Worcester.  After  spending  some 
months  with  Dr.  Carroll  as  his  guest,  upon  whom 
he  made  a  favorable  impression,  notwithstanding 


his  arrival  in  America  had  been  preceded  by 
rumors  which  threw  doubts  upon  his  faith,  Mr. 
Wharton  went  to  Philadelphia  and  published 
"A  Letter  to  the  Roman  Catholics  of  the  City  of 
Worcester,  from  their  late  Chaplain  of  that  So 
ciety,  stating  the  motives  which  induced  him  to  re 
linquish  their  Communion  and  become  a  member 
of  the  Protestant  Church,"  in  which  he  attacked 
the  doctrines  of  Transubstantiation  and  Infallibil 
ity,  the  discipline  of  Celibacy  for  the  Clergy,  and 
other  Catholic  teachings  or  observances.  This 
pamphlet  had  a  wide  circulation  in  America  and 
England,  and  attracted  much  attention.  Dr. 
Carroll  made  a  masterly  answer  in  a  pamphlet 
entitled  "An  Address  to  the  Roman  Catholics  of 
the  United  States  of  America.  By  a  Catholic 
Clergyman."  Wharton's  "  Reply  to  the  Address 
to  the  Roman  Catholics  of  the  United  States  of 
America "  fell  flat  upon  the  public  attention : 
Dr.  Carroll  was  universally  adjudged  as  having 
the  best  of  the  controversy.  Several  other 
pamphlets  were  issued  in  answer  to  Wharton, 
and  a  great  impetus  was  given  to  Catholic 
interests ;  as  a  fruit  of  it  followed  the  publication 
of  several  Catholic  books.  The  Catholic  clergy 
also  assembled  and  adopted  an  organization  and 
form  of  ecclesiastical  government,  for  the  pres 
ervation  of  the  ecclesiastical  property,  for  the  mak 
ing  of  disciplinary  rules,  hearing  complaints, 
holding  triennial  chapters,  and  maintaining  the 
general  interests  of  the  Church  and  of  the 
clergy.  Among  the  proceedings  of  this  cor 
porate  body  of  the  clergy  was  a  resolution 
expressing  their  desire  only  for  a  Superior  and 
against  the  appointment  of  a  Bishop ;  and  an 
other  resolution  to  labor  for  the  restoration  of 
the  Society  of  Jesus.  Rome  had  intended  ap 
pointing  Father  Carroll  Vicar- Apostolic,  but 
with  very  restricted  powers  ;  on  the  receipt  of 
information  at  Rome  of  the  determined  opposi 
tion  of  the  American  clergy  to  the  appointment 
of  a  Bishop,  the  design  of  appointing  a  Vicar- 
Apostolic  was  for  the  present  abandoned.  Father 
Carroll  forwarded  to  Cardinal  Antonelli  an  elab 
orate  and  important  report  on  the  state  of  the 
Catholic  Church  in  America,  took  measures  for 
proclaiming  the  Jubilee,  in  January,  1785,  and 
energetically  assumed  the  arduous  duties  and 
labors  of  his  delicate  position  as  Prefect-Apostolic. 
One  of  his  most  earnest  efforts  was  to  secure 


Ixxxvi 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


priests  to  meet  the  numerous  demands  made  upon 
him  from  every  part  of  the  country  for  pastors. 
He  availed  himself  of  the  services  of  Rev.  Charles 
Whelan,  a  Capuchin,  who  had  come  to  New  York 
on  the  invitation  of  the  Catholics  of  that  city ;  of 
Rev.  Father  Paul,  a  Carmelite,  a  former  chaplain 
in  the  French  army  ;  of  Rev.  Mr.  Causse,  and  of 
Father  de  la  Valiniere,  who,  having  been  driven 
from  Canada  on  account  of  his  espousal  of  the 
American  cause,  had  been  giving  his  spiritual 
care  to  the  Canadians  and  Acadians  resident  in 
the  United  States.  From  Dr.  Carroll's  report 
to  Cardinal  Antonelli,  in  1784,  we  learn  that 
there  were  in  Maryland  about  15,800  Catholics 
of  all  classes,  scattered  through  the  State,  and 
attended  by  nineteen  priests ;  in  Pennsylvania 
7,000  Catholics,  attended  by  five  priests  ;  in  New 
York  about  1,500  Catholics,  without  a  priest,  and 
about  200  in  Virginia  and  many  in  the  late 
French  territory  of  the  Northwest  and  Missis 
sippi  Valley  needing  priests.  Father  Lewis' 
advanced  age  was  the  only  reason  alleged  for  the 
recommendation  of  the  clergy  in  favor  of  his 
appointment  being  disregarded.  It  is  equally 
certain  that  Dr.  Carroll  did  not  anticipate  nor 
desire  the  appointment  of  himself.  The  spiritual 
care  of  so  vast  a  country  with  a  sparse  and 
scattered  Catholic  population,  and  with  demands 
for  priests  from  every  quarter,  was  indeed  an 
onerous  and  difficult  task.  The  calm  judgment, 
energy  of  character  and  unwavering  zeal  of  Dr. 
Carroll  eminently  fitted  him  for  it. 

The  Catholics  of  New  York,  numbering  about 
1,500,  had  been  visited  by  Father  Farmer  before 
the  Revolution,  and  again  as  soon  as  the  city  was 
evacuated  by  the  British  army.  It  is  said  that 
they  had  had  a  church,  but  that  it  was  burned  dur 
ing  the  great  fire  which  occurred  on  Washington's 
retreat  from  the  city.  Father  Charles  Whelan 
came  to  New  York  in  October,  1784,  and  Father 
Farmer  turned  the  congregation  over  to  him : 
though  he  commenced  exercising  the  holy 
ministry  without  faculties,  Dr.  Carroll  after 
wards  gave  him  faculties,  not  regarding  his  case 
as  coming  within  the  restriction  imposed  on 
him,  that  only  priests  recommended  by  the 
Propaganda  should  receive  faculty,  because 
Father  Whelan  was  already  in  the  country. 
The  French  and  Spanish  embassies  followed  the 
seat  of  government  to  New  York,  and  a  French 


chaplain  gave  divine  service  to  members  of  the 
legation  and  such  others  as  attended.  In  1785 
the  city  authorities  refused  the  use  of  the  Ex 
change  in  Broad  street  to  the  Catholics,  but  this 
only  stimulated  them  to  obtain  from  Trinity 
Church  the  lease  of  lots  in  Barclay  street,  on 
which  stood  a  carpenter's  shop;  this  shop  was 
used  as  a  temporary  church,  with  Father  Whelan 
as  pastor.  In  1786  the  Spanish  embassy  re 
ceived  Father  John  O'Connell,  a  Dominican,  as 
its  chaplain,  and  mass  was  said  by  him  at  the 
embassy.  Father  Pellentz  made  a  generous 
effort  to  procure  German  priests  from  Germany 
at  his  own  expense,  and  Father  Farmer  induced 
Rev.  Lawrence  Graessel  to  resign  a  lucrative 
living  in  Germany  and  give  his  services  to  the 
American  mission.  Father  Graessel  and  Rev. 
Francis  Beeston,  an  English  priest,  were  ap 
pointed  by  Dr.  Carroll  as  assistants  to  Father 


St.  Joseph's  Church  (Philadelphia),  in  olden  times. 

Molyneux  at  St.  Joseph's  and  St.  Mary's 
Churches  in  Philadelphia.  In  1785  Catholics 
began  to  emigrate  from  Maryland  to  Kentucky  : 
in  1785  twenty-five  families  went  out  and  settled 
on  Pottinger's  Creek,  where  they  at  first  received 
only  occasional  visits  from  priests,  and  in  1787  had 
a  church  of  their  own  with  the  Dominican  Father 
de  Rohan  as  their  pastor. 

In  the  summer  of  1785  Dr.  Carroll  began  the 
visitation  of  his  vast  Prefecture,  visiting  parts  of 
lower  Maryland,  Philadelphia,  New  Jersey  and 
New  York,  and  at  New  York  adjusted  with  the 


HISTORICAL   SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


Ixxxvii 


trustees  as  well  as  could  be  the  affairs  of  St. 
Peter's  ;  he  extended  his  visitation  to  Virginia, 
where  there  was  an  old  but  small  congregation  at 
Aquia  Creek,  and  some  Catholics  at  Richmond. 
Dissensions  in  the  New  York  congregation  again 
received  his  prompt  attention.  His  visitations 
and  the  administration  of  confirmation  engaged 
his  time  through  the  spring  of  1 786.  At  this  time 
he  received  commendatory  letters  from  Rome, 
and  he  was  permitted  to  grant  faculties  without 
the  old  restrictions  to  priests  approved  by  the 
Propaganda.  The  death  of  Father  Farmer, 
whose  real  name  was  Steynmayer,  about  this 
time,  was  a  severe  loss  to  the  American  Church. 
The  Catholics  of  New  York  commenced  the 
erection  of  their  new  church  in  Barclay  street ; 
Father  Whelan,  an  excellent  priest,  disgusted 
with  the  opposition  he  encountered  from  a  part 
of  the  congregation  and  from  Rev.  Mr.  Nugent, 
retired  from  the  field,  leaving  Mr.  Nugent  in 
possession,  and  to  the  latter  Dr.  Carroll  gave 
faculties  rather  than  leave  New  York  without 
a  pastor.  On  November  4  the  first  Mass  was 
said  in  new  St.  Peter's,  which  was  no  doubt 
attended  by  many  of  the  United  States  officials, 
for  on  the  same  day  the  Spanish  Minister  gave  a 
state  dinner  at  which  he  had  for  his  guests 
President  Washington  and  his  Cabinet,  the 
members  and  officers  of  Congress,  the  Governor 
of  New  York  and  the  foreign  Ministers.  Dr. 
Carroll  took  up  his  residence  in  Baltimore,  and 
under  his  vigorous  and  zealous  labor  the  progress 
of  religion  in  the  United  States  was  marked. 
Hagerstown  and  Eastern  Shore  in  Maryland, 
Conewago,  Goshenhoppen,  Lancaster,  West 
moreland  in  Pennsylvania,  had  missions  and 
churches,  and,  in  1786,  the  Chapter  of  the  Clergy, 
which  was  attended  by  Dr.  Carroll,  resolved  on 
the  founding  of  an  academy  at  Georgetown,  and 
took  measures  to  that  end.  This  was  the  origin 
of  Georgetown  College  or  University.  The 
small  Catholic  body  at  Boston  began  to  be  heard 
from  :  Rev.  Mr.  Poterie,  a  French  priest,  became 
their  pastor,  but  as  he  assumed  to  act  and 
address  a  pastoral  letter  to  his  people  as  Apos 
tolic  Vice-Prefect,  Dr.  Carroll  withdrew  his 
faculties  and  he  retired  to  Canada.  In  Maryland 
Rev.  Patrick  Smith,  from  Ireland,  made  trouble 
for  the  Prefect  Apostolic,  a  public  controversy 
ensued  and  he  was  compelled  to  resign  and  re 


turned  to  Ireland.  Trouble,  too,  arose  in  Phila 
delphia  from  the  discontent  of  the  Germans  of 
St.  Mary's  Church  at  the  pastor  appointed  for 
the  church  and  from  their  attempt  to  form  a 
separate  German  Catholic  congregation.  At 
New  York  he  had  to  withdraw  the  faculties  from 
Rev.  Mr.  Nugent  and  appoint  Rev.  William 
O'Brien,  a  Dominican,  pastor  of  St.  Peter's  ;  the 
partisans  of  Nugent  resorted  to  violence.  Dr. 
Carroll  had  to  go  to  New  York ;  a  tumult  was 
raised  in  the  church  by  Nugent's  adherents  while 
the  Prefect- Apostolic  was  endeavoring  to  address 
the  congregation  ;  his  person  was  in  danger  and 
he  retired  to  the  Spanish  embassy.  In  the  midst 
of  increasing  cares  and  embarrassments  from 
almost  every  direction,  the  calm  and  discreet 
judgment  and  prompt  action  of  Dr.  Carroll 
guided  the  interests  of  the  Church  through  every 
difficulty.  His  efforts  and  appeals  for  more 
priests  from  Europe  were  constant.  In  1790 
he  had  the  consolation  of  receiving  into  his  vast 
vineyard  two  worthy  Irish  Dominicans,  Father 
Francis  A.  Fleming  and  Father  Christopher 
V.  Keating,  both  of  whom  came  from  Lisbon, 
Portugal,  and  both  bearing  the  highest  testi 
monials  ;  also  the  Rev.  Michael  Burke.  Fathers 
Fleming  and  Keating  were  sent  to  Philadelphia, 
and  Rev.  Mr.  Burke  was  sent  to  St.  Peter's, 
New  York,  to  replace  Rev.  Mr.  O'Brien,  then 
absent  on  leave  in  Spanish  America.  Dr.  Car 
roll  had  since  his  appointment  as  Prefect  received 
or  recognized  thirty  priests,  most  of  whom  were 
either  seculars  or  members  of  religious  orders 
other  than  the  Society  of  Jesus.  Such  and  so 
frequent  were  the  troubles  made  in  the  Ameri 
can  Church  by  clerical  adventurers,  some  of 
whom,  after  their  return  to  Europe,  had  made 
charges  against  the  Prefect  Apostolic  at  Rome, 
that  Dr.  Carroll  was  cautioned  by  Cardinal  An- 
tonelli  not  to  accept  the  services  of  any  priest 
from  Ireland  unless  recommended  by  Archbishop 
Troy.  In  the  meantime  Catholicity  was  ad 
vancing  in  Maryland  and  especially  in  Phila 
delphia,  as  well  as  in  other  parts  of  the  country. 
Now  and  then  controversy  was  forced  on  Dr. 
Carroll,  who,  as  the  foremost  priest  and  Catholic 
in  America,  was  compelled  to  be  the  defender 
and  champion  of  the  Catholic  cause  and  body. 
A  writer,  over  the  signature  of  "  Liberal,"  in  June, 
1789,  violently  attacked  the  Catholic  body  :  Dr. 


Ixxxviii 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH— INTRODUCTORY. 


Carroll  replied  in  his  accustomed  cogent,  digni 
fied  and  unanswerable  style ;  the  controversy 
was  published  in  the  Gazette  of  the  United  States. 
Such  was  the  progress  of  the  Catholic  Church 
in  America,  that  we  must  now  look  for  another 
ecclesiastical  development. 

The  Chapter  of  the  Associated  Clergy  was 
made  aware  of  the  many  difficulties  Dr.  Carroll 
had  encountered  from  rebellious  or  unworthy 
priests,  or  from  congregational  dissensions,  or 
both,  as  was  the  case  in  New  York.  The  clergy 
saw  clearly  that  Dr.  Carroll's  powers  as  Prefect 
were  inadequate  to  administer  the  proper  reme 
dies,  and  the  necessity  for  an  American  Bishop, 
clothed  with  the  plenitude  of  the  Episcopal  office, 
was  too  apparent.  Accordingly,  a  petition  of  the 
American  clergy  to  the  Holy  See  requesting  the 
appointment  of  a  Bishop  was  forwarded  to  Rome 
through  the  Spanish- Minister  at  New  York,  and 
the  Spanish  Prime-Minister  at  Madrid.  The 
Spanish  Minister  strongly  urged  Dr.  Carroll  for 
the  appointment,  and  though  no  nomination  was 
made  from  America,  all  eyes  were  turned  upon  him. 
In  response  to  the  petition  Rome  authorized  the 
clergy  of  America  to  select  the  place  where  the 
new  See  should  be  located,  and  to  nominate  a 


candidate.  The  clergy  accordingly  assembled  at 
White  Marsh  to  the  number  of  twenty-six  ;  Mass 
was  celebrated  and  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
was  asked  ;  twenty-four  votes  out  of  twenty-six 
were  cast  for  Dr.  Carroll ;  Baltimore  was  selected 
as  the  seat  of  the  new  See,  and  the  proper  docu 
ments  embodying  the  action  of  the  clergy  duly 
signed  and  forwarded  to  the  Propaganda.  The 
nomination  of  Dr.  Carroll  was  received  at  Rome 
with  great  satisfaction ;  in  America  he  alone 
shrank  from  the  result  so  appalling  to  him,  but 
he  considered  that  honor  and  duty  compelled  his 
acquiescence.  The  Papal  Bull,  dated  November 
6,  1789,  created  the  Episcopal  See  of  Baltimore, 
and  Dr.  Carroll  was  appointed  first  Bishop. 
Every  act  and  word  of  the  Bishop-elect,  both 
public  and  private,  showed  how  sincerely  and 
ardently  he  would  wish  to  shrink  from  the 
long  and  arduous  ordeal  of  Episcopal  labor 
and  trial  now  presented  to  his  acceptance;  but 
it  was  not  fear;  it  was  his  clear  perception  of 
the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  the  exalted 
office ;  it  was  his  own  humility  and  virtue 
which  were  strikingly  illustrated  in  this  instance 
by  his  desire  to  dispense  with  wearing  the 
mitre. 


Mother  Elizabeth  Ann  Seton, 

Founder  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity  in  the  United  States. 


Cathedral,  Baltimore,  Md, 

CHAPTER  I. 

DIOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE — FROM  ITS  ERECTION  IN  1789-90  TO  ITS  SUBDIVISION  IN  1 808-10. 

Consecration  of  Bishop  Carroll  in  England— Letter  to  Pope  Pius  VI.— Engages  the  Sulpitians — His  Return  to  America— Installation — 
His  Sermon  and  First  Pastorals — An  Extraordinary  Signature— Diocese  of  Baltimore  Dedicated  to  Blessed  Virgin  Mary— Sulpitians 
in  Baltimore— St.  Mary's — Carmelites  in  Maryland — Church  at  Boston  in  Trouble— Rev.  John  Thayer — First  Synod— Rev.  Lawrence 
Graessel  Nominated  for  Co-adjutor — Indian  Missions — The  French  Revolution  Exiles  the  Clergy,  who  Come  to  America — Catholic 
Priests  and  the  Yellow  Fever — Visitation  Order — Trouble  in  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore  Churches — Augustinians — Dominicans— 
The  Church  in  Albany,  Boston,  and  New  England — Prince  Gallitzin  and  his  Missions — Missions  in  Pennsylvania  and  Delaware — 
Father  Badin  and  other  Missionaries  in  Kentucky — The  Church  in  the  South  and  in  the  Northwest — Father  Richard  in  Detroit — A 
Member  of  Congress — The  Church  in  Virginia  and  in  Pennsylvania — Bishop  Carroll's  Funeral  Oration  on  Washington — Consecra 
tion  of  Bishop  Neale  as  Co-adjutor — General  Progress  of  the  Church  in  the  United  States— Restoration  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  in 
Maryland — Labors  of  Fathers  Badin  and  Nerinckx  in  Kentucky — Dominicans  in  Ohio — Cathedral  Commenced — Colleges  of  George 
town,  St.  Mary's,  and  Mount  St.  Mary's — Subdivision  of  the  Diocese — Four  New  Sees  Created. 


7R.  CARROLL,  the 
Bishop-elect,  decided 
to  request  consecra 
tion  from  the  Right- 
Rev.  Charles  Walmes- 
ley,  Bishop  of  Rama 
and  Senior  Vicar- 
Apostolic  of  England. 
His  old  friend,  Thomas 
Weld,  Esq.,  of  Lulworth  Castle,  invited  Dr. 
Carroll  to  become  his  guest  during  his  visit  to 
England,  and  suggested  the  beautiful  chapel 


of  Lulworth  Castle  as  the  place  of  consecra 
tion.  Proceeding  to  England  in  the  summer 
of  1790,  Right-Rev.  John  Carroll  was  conse 
crated  first  Bishop  of  Baltimore,  at  the  chapel 
of  Lulworth,  by  the  Right-Rev.  Dr.  Walmes- 
ley,  on  August  15,  the  Feast  of  the  Assump 
tion  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  who  was  then  selected 
as  the  patroness  of  the  Diocese  of  Baltimore. 
Rev.  Charles  Plowden  attended  Bishop  Car 
roll,  and  Rev.  James  Porter  attended  Bishop 
Walmesley.  Bishop  Carroll  received  the  most 
touching  and  distinguished  honors  and  attentions 

(i) 


DIOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE. 


from  the  Catholic  nobility  and  people  of  England. 
Invitations  to  accept  the  elegant  and  sumptuous 
hospitality  of  his  English  friends  and  admirers 
were  courteously  declined.  While  in  London  he 
corresponded  with  the  Sulpitians,  at  Paris,  in 
relation  to  the  founding  of  a  Seminary  of  their 
admirable  congregation  in  Baltimore  for  the  edu 
cation  of  young  American  candidates  for  the 
priesthood,  and  by  appointment  received  the  Rev. 
Francis  Charles  Nagot  at  London,  and  with  him 
arranged  all  preliminaries  for  the  advent  of  the 
Sulpitians  to  America,  and  the  founding  of  a 
Theological  Seminary  at  Baltimore.  From  Lon 
don  he  addressed  to  Pope  Pius  VI.  a  letter, 
which,  while  teeming  with  sentiments  of  loyalty 
to  the  Holy  See,  is  so  characterized  by  beautiful 
simplicity  that  we  transcribe  it  to  our  pages  : 

' '  Most  Holy  Father  : 

"  When  two  months  ago  I  informed  the  Most  Eminent  Cardinal 
Autonelli  of  my  arrival  in  Europe  to  receive  Episcopal  consecration, 
I  asked  him  kindly  to  place  me  at  your  Holiness'  feet,  and  in  my 
name  to  profess  especially  that,  although  I  undertook  this  burden 
of  the  Episcopacy  with  great  fear,  yet  it  afforded  me  no  little  con 
solation  that  I  was  not  deemed  by  you,  Most  Holy  Father,  utterly 
unworthy  of  so  great  an  office  ;  in  the  next  place,  that  he  would  lay 
before  you  my  faith  that  I  would  never,  at  any  time,  fail  in  obedi 
ence  and  docility  to  the  Holy  See,  without  which,  as  I  had  learned 
from  ecclesiastical  history  and  the  doctrine  of  the  Fathers,  faith 
and  morals  waver.  Let  me  add,  moreover,  that  I  shall  spare  no 
endeavor  that  all  committed  to  my  care,  whether  people  or  pastors, 
may  be  actuated  by  the  same  feelings  that  animate  me  towards  the 
Holy  See. 

"To  obtain  this  grace  more  surely,  prostrate  humbly  at  the  feet 
of  Your  Holiness,  I  ask  you  to  vouchsafe  to  confer  on  us  the  Apos 
tolic  benediction. 

"Most  Holy  Father, 

"  Your  most  objdieut  servant  and  son, 

>J«  JOHN,  Bishop  of  Baltimore. 

"  LONDON,  September  27,  1790." 

Bishop  Carroll  received  a  letter  from  Cardinal 
Antonelli  expressing  the  gratification  of  the 
Holy  Father  and  himself  at  receiving  the  news 
of  his  nomination  by  the  clergy,  and  at  London 
he  received  a  letter  from  the  Cardinal  expressing 
his  admiration  of  the  Bishop's  humility  in  not 
wishing  to  wear  the  mitre,  and  announcing  the 
gratuity  for  three  years  from  the  Propaganda  to 
Georgetown  College.  He  now  took  leave  of  his 
English  friends,  and  of  the  luxurious  castle  and 
chapel  of  Lulworth,  and  retumed  to  his  episcopal 
city,  where  a  small  brick  church,  twenty-five  by 
thirty  feet  in  size — old  St.  Peter's,  whose  pastor 
he  was  during  his  residence  in  Baltimore  as 
Prefect-Apostolic — was  his  only  church  and  his 
Cathedral.  Embarking  at  Gravesend  on  October 


8,  1790,  after  an  unfavorable  voyage,  he  arrived 
in  Baltimore  on  December  yth.  A  concourse  of 
Catholic  citizens  met  him  on  his  arrival  at  the 
wharf,  and  escorted  him  to  his  humble  residence. 
On  the  following  Sunday  he  was  installed  at  St. 
Peter's.  How  simple  was  this  important  event 
compared  with  the  installation  of  a  Bishop  in  our 
day !  He  was  received  and  escorted  from  the 
door  of  the  church  to  the  sanctuary  by  five 
priests  and  the  church  trustees.  He  stood  at  the 
foot  of  the  altar  while  a  simple  choir  sang  the 
TE  DEUM.  Conducted  to  his  throne,  he  received 
the  homage  of  the  clergy  present  and  of  some  of 
the  laity,  celebrated  Pontifical  Mass,  and  bestowed 
a  solemn  benediction.  He  also  delivered  an  ad 
dress,  which  is  so  full  of  admirable  sentiments,  of 
humility,  of  simple  grandeur,  apostolic  zeal,  and 
characteristic  dignity,  that  we  feel  that  we  should 
give  a  portion  of  it  to  our  readers : 

"  This  day,  my  dear  brethren,  impresses  deeply 
on  my  mind  a  lively  sense  of  the  new  relation  in 
which  I  stand  now  before  you.  You  have  often 
heard  my  voice  within  these  walls ;  and  often 
have  I  used  my  feeble  endeavors  to  rouse  you 
from  the  sleep  of  sin,  and  to  awake  in  you  the 
sentiments  of  virtue  and  practical  piety.  But 
when  I  thus  addressed  you,  I  considered  it  indeed 
as  my  obligation  to  admonish  and  instruct-  you ; 
but  I  did  not  view  it  as  an  indissoluble  obliga 
tion.  My  superintendence  over  your  spiritual 
concerns  was  of  such  a  nature  that  I  could 
relinquish  it  or  be  removed  from  it  at  pleasure. 
But  now  the  hand  of  Providence  (Ah !  may  I 
hope  it  is  not  an  angry,  but  a  Providence  mer 
ciful  to  you  and  me !) — the  hand  of  Providence 
has  formed  an  indissoluble  tie — has  bound  me  by 
an  obligation  which  I  can  never  renounce — an 
obligation  of  ever  attending  to  your  eternal  inter 
ests  ;  of  watching  perpetually  over  your  conduct ; 
of  stemming,  to  the  utmost  of  my  power,  the 
torrent  of  vice  and  irreligion  ;  of  conducting  you 
in  the  ways  of  virtue,  and  leading  you  to  the 
haven  of  eternal  bliss.  The  shade  of  retirement 
and  solitude  must  no  longer  be  my  hope  and 
prospect  of  consolation.  Often  have  I  flattered 
myself  that  my  declining  years  would  be  in 
dulged  in  such  a  state  of  rest  from  labor  and 
solicitude  for  others  as  would  leave  me  the  best 
opportunity  of  attending  to  the  great  concern  of 
my  own  salvation,  and  of  confining  myself  to 


DIOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE. 


remember  my  last  years  in  the  bitterness  of  com 
punction.  But  it  has  pleased  God  to  order  other 
wise  ;  and  though  my  duty  commands  submis 
sion,  it  cannot  allay  my  fears — those  fears  which 
I  feel  for  you  and  for  myself.  For,  my  God ! 
how  much  reason  have  I  not  to  fear  for  myself 
when  I  view  the  extent  of  my  duties  on  the  one 
hand,  and  on  the  other  my  weakness  and  natural 
inability  to  fulfil  them.  In  this  my  new  station, 
if  my  life  be  not  one  continued  instruction  and 
example  of  virtue  to  the  people  committed  to  my 
charge,  it  will  become,  in  the  sight  of  God,  a  life 
not  only  useless,  but  even  pernicious. 

"  It  is  no  longer  enough  for  me  to  be  inoffen 
sive  in  my  conduct  and  regular  in  my  manners ; 
God  now  imposes  a  severer  duty  upon  me.  I 
shall  incur  the  guilt  of  violating  my  pastoral 
office,  if  all  my  endeavors  be  no  longer  directed 
to  bring  your  lives  and  all  your  actions  to  a  con 
formity  with  the  laws  of  God ;  to  exhort,  to  con 
jure,  to  reprove,  to  enter  into  all  your  sentiments, 
to  feel  all  your  infirmities  ;  to  be  all  things  to  all, 
that  I  may  gain  all  to  Christ ;  to  be  superior  to 
human  respects ;  to  have  nothing  in  view  but 
God  and  your  salvation,  to  sacrifice  to  these 
health,  peace,  reputation,  and  even  life  itself;  to 
hate  sin,  and  yet  love  the  sinner,  to  repress  the 
turbulent,  to  encourage  the  timid,  to  watch  over 
the  conduct  of  even  the  ministers  of  religion,  to 
be  patient  and  meek,  to  embrace  all  kinds  of  per 
sons — these  are  now  my  duties — extensive,  press 
ing,  and  indispensable  duties ;  these  are  the 
duties  of  all  my  brethren  in  the  episcopacy  and 
surely  important  enough  to  fill  us  with  terror. 
But  there  are  others  still  more  burdensome  to  be 
borne  by  me  in  this  particular  portion  of  Christ's 
Church  which  is  committed  to  my  charge  and 
where  everything  is  to  be  raised  as  it  were  from 
its  foundation — to  establish  ecclesiastical  disci 
pline,  to  devise  means  for  the  religious  education 
of  Catholic  youth,  that  precious  portion  of  pas 
toral  solicitude,  to  provide  an  establishment  for 
training  up  ministers  for  the  sanctuary  and  the 
service  of  religion,  that  we  may  no  longer  depend 
on  foreign  and  uncertain  co-adjutors,  and  not  to 
leave  unassisted  any  of  the  faithful  who  are 
scattered  through  this  immense  continent,  to 
preserve  their  faith  untainted  amidst  the  conta 
gion  of  error  surrounding  them  on  all  sides,  to 
preserve  in  their  hearts  a  warm  charitj^  and  for 


bearance  towards  every  other  denomination  of 
Christians,  and  at  the  same  time  to  preserve 
them  from  that  fatal  indifference  which  views  all 
religions  as  equally  acceptable  to  God  and  salu 
tary  to  men.  Ah !  when  I  consider  these  addi 
tional  duties,  my  heart  sinks  almost  under  the 
impression  of  terror  which  comes  upon  it.  In 
God  alone  can  I  find  my  consolation.  He  knows 
by  what  steps  I  have  been  conducted  to  this  im 
portant  station,  and  how  much  I  have  always 
dreaded  it.  He  will  not  abandon  me,  unless  I 
first  draw  down  His  malediction  by  my  unfaith 
fulness  to  my  charge.  Pray,  dear  brethren,  pray 
incessantly  that  I  may  not  incur  such  a  punish 
ment.  Alas  !  the  punishment  would  fall  on  you, 
and  deprive  you  of  some  of  the  means  of  salva 
tion.  The  fears  which  trouble  me  on  my  own 
account  would  receive  some  abatement,  if  I  could 
be  assured  of  your  steady  adherence  to  the  duties 
of  your  holy  religion.  But  how  can  I  be  assured 
of  this  when  I  recollect  what  experience  has 
taught  me,  and  that  worldly  contagion,  example, 
influence,  and  respect,  together  with  impetuous 
passions,  seek  perpetually  to  plunge  you  into 
habits  of  vice,  and  afterwards  into  everlasting 
misery,  and  when  I  know  that  not  one  soul  will 
perish  from  amongst  you,  of  which  God  will  not 
demand  of  me  as  its  shepherd  a  most  severe  ac 
count.  Unhappily  at  this  time  a  spirit  of  infi 
delity  is  prevalent,  and  dares  to  attempt  the  sub 
version  of  even  the  fences  which  guard  virtue 
and  purity  of  body  and  mind.  Licentiousness 
of  discourse  and  the  arts  of  seduction  are  prac 
tised  without  shame,  and  it  would  seem  without 
remorse.  Ah !  will  it  be  in  my  power  to  oppose 
these  fatal  engines  of  vice  and  immorality  ? 

"  Dear  brethren,  allow  me  to  appeal  to  your  con 
sciences  ;  question  them  with  candor  and  truth. 
Can  I  say  more  to  bring  you  back  to  the  simplic 
ity  of  faith,  to  the  humble  docility  of  a  disciple 
of  Jesus,  to  the  fervent  practice  of  Christian 
duties  than  I  have  said  to  you  heretofore  ?  But 
what  reformation  followed  then  my  earnest  ex 
hortations?  Was  prayer  more  used?  Were 
parents  more  assiduous  in  the  instruction  of  their 
children  ?  Were  their  examples  more  edifying  ? 
Was  swearing  and  blaspheming  diminished? 
Was  drunkenness  suppressed  ?  Was  idleness 
extirpated?  Was  injustice  abolished?  May  I 
hope  that  on  this  occasion  God  will  shower  down 


DIOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE. 


more  abundant  graces,  that  your  hearts  will  be 
turned  from  the  love  of  the  world  to  the  love  of 
Him  ?  If  I  could  be  so  happy  as  to  see  prevail 
ing  among  you  such  exercises  of  piety  as  evi 
denced  your  attachment  to  religion,  and  your  zeal 
for  your  salvation,  I  should  myself  be  relieved 
from  much  of  my  solicitude,  prayer,  attendance 
on  holy  Mass,  frequentation  of  the  holy  sacra 
ments,  humble  docility  to  the  advice  and  admoni 
tion  of  your  pastor.  'Obey,'  says  St.  Paul, 
'  those  who  are  put  over  you,  as  having  to  ren 
der  to  God  an  account  for  your  souls.' ' 

Bishop  Carroll's  pastorals  and  sermons,  sev- 


Most  Rev.  John  Carroll,  D.  D.,  First  Archbishop  of  Baltimore. 

eral  of  which  latter  have  been  preserved  and  pub 
lished  by  his  relative  and  biographer,  Mr.  John 
Carroll  Brent,  were  models  of  good  taste,  good 
English  and  sound  doctrine.  Shortly  after  the 
adjournment  of  the  Synod  he  issued  a  beautiful 
circular  on  Christian  Marriage,  from  which  we 
make  the  following  extract :  "  When  Christ  hon 
ored  the  institution  of  marriage  by  raising  it  to 
the  dignity  and  sanctity  of  a  sacrament,  he  in 
tended  to  create  in  all  who  were  to  enter  into 
that  state  a  great  respect  for  it,  and  to  lay  on 
them  an  obligation  of  preparing  themselves  for 
it  by  purifying  their  consciences  and  disposing 


them  worthily  to  receive  abundant  communica 
tions  of  divine  grace.  He  subjected  thereby  to 
the  authority  and  jurisdiction  of  his  Church  the 
manner  and  rites  of  its  celebration,  lest  any 
should  violate  and  profane  so  holy  an  institution 
by  engaging  in  marriage  without  due  considera 
tion  of  its  sanctity  and  obligations.  It  is  judged 
necessary  to  say  this,  because  lately  some  of  the 
congregation  have  been  so  regardless  of  their 
duty  in  this  respect  as  to  recur  to  the  ministry 
of  those  whom  the  Catholic  Church  never  hon 
ored  with  the  commission  of  administering  mar 
riage.  The  persons  here  spoken  of  and  those 
who  have  followed  their  example  hereby  rendered 
themselves  guilty  of  a  sacrilegious  profanation 
of  a  most  holy  institution  at  the  very  moment 
of  their  marriage.  It  must  be  left  to  themselves 
to  consider  whether  they  can  expect  much  hap 
piness  in  a  state  into  which  they  entered  by  com 
mitting  an  offence  so  grievous  and  dangerous  to 
their  faith."  The  circular  then  proceeds  to  re 
quire  of  all  who  may  accept  the  services  of  Prot 
estant  ministers  in  getting  married,  "  a  public 
acknowledgment  of  their  disobedience  before  the 
assembled  congregation,  and  beg  pardon  for  the 
scandal  they  have  given." 

Bishop  Carroll's  first  pastoral  was  issued  on 
May  28,  1792,  in  which  he  treats  of  many  most 
important  subjects.  Catholic  and  religious  edu 
cation  for  the  young  was  strongly  urged  and 
insisted  upon,  and  in  this  connection  he  informs 
his  people  what  provision  has  just  been  made  for 
such  training  at  the  new  institutions — George 
town  College  and  St.  Mary's  Seminary  at  Balti 
more — and  appealed  for  a  generous  maintenance 
of  these  seats  of  learning  and  study.  He  urged 
the  building  of  new  churches,  the  enlargement 
of  old  ones  and  the  liberal  support  of  the  clergy ; 
the  necessity  for  resident  pastors  at  many  places, 
and  the  regular  attendance  of  the  people  at  Mass, 
and  a  charitable  remembrance  at  the  altar  of  the 
souls  of  the  faithful  departed.  An  admirable 
prayer  before  sermons  to  be  recited  by  the  priest 
in  the  pulpit,  for  the  religious  and  civil  authori 
ties,  was  prepared  by  the  Bishop,  and  its  recital 
in  the  churches  of  the  archdiocese  of  Baltimore 
has  continued  to  our  day. 

His  first  Pastoral  was  the  occasion  of  another 
controversy  for  Bishop  Carroll.  A  minister  of 
another  denomination  took  exception  to  the 


DIOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE. 


Bishop's  signature  to  the  Pastoral,  "fjohn, 
Bishop  of  Baltimore,"  and  published  in  the 
public  journals  of  Baltimore  an  article  entitled 
"An  Extraordinary  Signature."  Dr.  Carroll,  in 
his  answer,  says  :  "  The  Roman  Catholic  Bishop 
of  Baltimore,  in  a  late  letter  to  his  flock,  which 
acknowledges  his  pastoral  jurisdiction,  adopts 
the  language  sanctioned  by  immemorial  usage 
of  his  Church,  and  takes  his  appellation  from  the 
town  where  his  Episcopal  See  is  erected.  This 
is  agreeable  to  the  discipline  established  amongst 
Catholics,  and  to  the  practice  of  his  brethren  in 
the  Episcopacy,  and  he  hopes  that  it  is  not  re 
pugnant  to  any  law  of  his  country.  He  has  not 
invaded  the  rights  of  any  religious  society;  nor 
interfered  to  control  their  form  of  words ;  nor  dis 
turbed  their  ministers  for  speaking  or  writing  in 
any  style  they  chose  to  the  people  who  look  up 
to  them  for  instruction.  Leaving  them  in  the 
unimpeached  exercise  of  that  liberty  which  our 
free  Constitution  grants  them,  he  has  claimed  the 
same  benefits  to  himself;  and,  of  consequence, 
has  been  careful  to  preserve  the  language  of  his 
predecessors  in  the  Episcopal  clergy  from  its 
institution,  near  eighteen  hundred  years  ago, 
down  to  the  present  time ;  for  he  knows  that  the 
integrity  of  Christian  doctrine,  generally,  is  pre 
served  best  by  a  faithful  adherence  to  the  same 
modes  of  speech,  and  he  is  not  disposed  to  sacri 
fice  to  a  spirit  of  innovation,  or  to  a  levelling 
anti-hierarchical  system  of  religion,  those  expres 
sions  by  which  all  ages  of  Christianity  have 
designated  his  office." 

"'Baltimore,'  he  (Liberal)  says,  'is  a  large 
place,  containing  many  inhabitants,  who  disown 
the  Bishop's  jurisdiction,  and  some  who  do  a  good 
deal  more]  by  which  he  means,  it  may  be  sup 
posed,  they  reject  episcopacy  altogether.  Let 
them,  if  they  please,  disown  the  one,  and  reject 
the  other;  they  use  their  constitutional  right; 
and  if  the  Bishop  knows  his  own  heart,  he  will 
leave  them  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  it;  but  lie 
will  ask,  whether  in  the  earliest  days  of  Chris 
tianity,  Rome,  Antioch,  Alexandria,  Corinth, 
Ephesus,  etc.,  were  not  likewise  large  places? 
And  whether  a  great  majority  of  their  inhabi 
tants  were  not  heathens  who  disowned  or  rejected 
b1' shops  and  their  jurisdiction?  Nevertheless, 
perplexing  as  it  must  have  been  to  the  liberals 


of  those  days  to  discover  the  meaning  and  per 
sons  intended  by  the  following  words :  we  read 
of  Clement,  Bishop  of  Rome ;  Ignatius,  Bishop 
of  Antioch  ;  Alexander,  Bishop  of  Alexandria, 
etc.  Where  lies  the  greater  difficulty  which  cost 
Liberal  so  much  time,  before  he  could  ascertain 
the  person  meant  by  John,  Bishop  of  Baltimore  ? 
Others,  into  whose  hands  the  curious  performance 
(so  Liberal  styles  it)  may  have  fallen,  received  a 
fair  and  honest  caution  to  be  upon  their  guard, 
by  the  addition  of  these  words  to  the  obnoxious 
title :  With  the  approbation  of  the  Holy  See, 
Bishop  of  Baltimore.  When  Protestant,  Meth 
odist,  or  if  they  pardon  the  expression,  Presby 
terian  bishops  profess  to  have  their  bishopricks 
under  the  same  approbation  of  the  See  Apostolic, 
it  may  be  necessary  to  use  some  further  discrim 
ination."  The  Bishop  then  likens  his  title, 
Bishop  of  Baltimore,  upon  general  political  and 
civil  principles,  to  those  of  the  Bank  of  Maryland, 
the  Baltimore  Insurance  Company,  and  informs 
Liberal  of  his  intention  to  continue  the  use  of 
that  extraordinary  signature.  It  was  in  such 
matters  as  this  and  many  others  that  the  first 
Bishop  had  to  settle  precedents  for  the  American 
Church  and  fight  the  first  battles  for  his  brethren 
and  successors  in  the  episcopal  office. 

Bishop  Carroll  dedicated  his  vast  diocese,  co 
extensive  with  the  nation,  to  the  Blessed  Virgin 
Mary,  Auspice  Marice,  and  with  her  assistance  he 
made  it  pre-eminently  successful  under  the  most 
discouraging  circumstances. 

The  first  important  work  undertaken  was  the 
establishment  of  St.  Mary's  College,  at  Baltimore, 
under  the  Sulpitians,  for  the  education  of  clergy 
men  for  the  American  Church,  and  subsequently 
also  for  the  academic  education  of  young  men. 
After  having  arranged  the  details  with  Bishop 
Carroll,  at  London,  Rev.  Mr.  Nagot,  Superior  of 
St.  Sulpice,  at  Paris,  formed  his  American  colony 
of  Sulpitians,  consisting  of  Rev.  Erancis  C.  Na 
got,  Superior;  Rev.  Messrs.  Levadoux  an  Tes- 
sier  and  Gamier,  who  were  accompanied  by  five 
seminarians,  Messrs.  Montdesir,  Tullon,  and 
Floyd,  Englishmen,  and  Mr.  Caldwell,  an  Amer 
ican,  and  Mr.  Pesinault,  a  Canadian.  They 
sailed  from  St.  Malo,  on  April  8,  1791 ;  Chateau 
briand  was  their  fellow-passenger ;  they  reached 
Baltimore  on  July  10,  1791,  and  Rev.  Charles 
Sewall,  in  the  absence  of  Bishop  Carroll,  received 


<5 


DIOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE. 


them  and  conducted  them  to  the  residence  pro 
vided  for  them.  Bishop  Carroll  announced  this 
as  "a  great  and  auspicious  event  for  our  diocese," 
and  having  placed  them  near  his  own  church  and 
residence,  he  made  them  a  part  of  the  clergy  of 
the  pro-Cathedral.  Mr.  Nagot  subsequently  pur 
chased  a  piece  of  property  of  four  acres,  known 
as  "  The  One  Mile  Tavern ;  "  this  was  converted 
into  St.  Mary's  Theological  Seminary,  and  the 
first  Mass  was  celebrated  there  on  July  20.  The 
three  Sulpitian  Fathers  who  founded  St.  Mary's 
were  among  the  most  distinguished  members  of 
the  Congregation  in  Europe,  the  approaching 
Revolutionary  disturbances  in  France  causing 
them  to  look  for  a  home  for  the  Sulpitians  in  an 
other  land.  On  May  29,  1792,  they  were  joined 
by  Rev.  Messrs.  Chicoisneau,  Flaget,  and  David, 
the  last  two  of  whom  afterwards  became  Ameri 
can  Bishops,  and  oy  Messrs.  Badin  and  Barret, 
the  former  becoming  the  first  ordained  priest  of 
the  Diocese  of  Baltimore.  Several  of  the  Sulpi 
tians  were  sent  on  missionary  duty.  Doubts 
having  existed  as  to  whether  Bishop  Carroll's 
jurisdiction  extended  over  the  missions  of  north 
ern  Maine  and  New  York,  which  were  claimed 
by  the  Bishop  of  Quebec,  and  Baton  Rouge, 
Natchez,  and  other  southern  places,  it  was  de 
cided  by  the  Holy  See  through  the  Propaganda, 
that  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Diocese  of  Baltimore 
should  be  co-extensive  with  the  entire  United 
States.  It  was  many  years  afterwards  before  our 
Northwestern  boundary  line  was  adjusted  by  the 
Webster-Ashburton  Treaty. 

The  introduction  of  a  contemplative  Order  of 
Nuns  into  the  country  was  another  important 
and  interesting  event.  A  number  of  zealous 
Catholics  in  Maryland  petitioned  the  Carmelite 
Nuns  of  Antwerp,  Germany,  to  send  a  colony 
and  found  a  convent  of  their  Order  at  Port  To 
bacco.  Bishop  Carroll  cordially  approved  the 
suggestion,  and  communicated  his  consent  to  the 
Bishop  of  Antwerp.  Accordingly  a  colony  was 
made  up,  selected  by  Rev.  Charles  Neale,  consist 
ing  of  Mother  Clara  F.  Dickinson,  Mother  Ber- 
nadina  Matthews  and  Sisters  Aloysia  and  Elea- 
nora  Matthews,  who  took  their  departure  from 
Germany,  April  9,  1790,  and  were  received  by 
Mr.  Robert  Brent,  at  his  residence  near  Port  To 
bacco  ;  a  farm  given  them  by  Rev.  Charles  Neale 
was  exchanged  for  a  more  commodious  property  ; 


Father  Neale  gave  them  his  patrimony,  amount 
ing  to  ^1370,  and  the  community  was  organized 
by  October  15,  with  Mother  Beruadina  as  supe 
rior.  Although  the  Order  was  strictly  contem 
plative,  reciting  the  Divine  Office  in  choir,  fasting 
eight  months  out  of  twelve,  abstaining  from  flesh 
meat,  wearing  only  woollen  clothes  and  sleeping 
on  straw,  such  were  the  needs  of  education  in  the 
Diocese  that  the  Bishop  applied  for  and  had  no 
difficulty  in  obtaining  permission  from  the  Holy 
See  for  the  -Sisters  to  open  a  school  for  young- 
ladies.  The  Carmelites,  however,  though  poor, 
preferred  to  follow  the  strictest  rule  of  their  In 
stitute,  and  declined  to  avail  themselves  of  the 
privilege.  In  Bishop  Carroll  they  found  a  stead 
fast  friend.  Father  Charles  Neale  was  their 
founder  and  chief  benefactor. 

Trouble  in  the  congregation  at  Boston  sum 
moned  Bishop  Carroll  to  that  city  in  the  spring 
of  1791.  The  presumptuous  and  usurping  Abbe 
Potarie  had  been  succeeded  by  Rev.  Louis 
Rousselet,  but  the  latter  gave  scandal  to  Lis  own 
people  by  his  conduct.  Rev.  John  Thayer,  a 
native  of  Boston  and  the  earliest  of  our  native 
converts  of  distinction,  returned  from  Europe, 
where  he  had  been  ordained,  and  was  appointed 
by  the  Bishop  pastor  of  Boston,  with  Rousselet 
as  his  assistant,  the  Bishop  hoping  thus  to  exert 
a  wholesome  restraint  on  the  latter.  But  finally 
the  Bishop  had  to  withdraw  his  faculties  from 
this  unworthy  priest;  but  Father  Thayer  was 
zealous  and  laborious  among  his  people,  and 
even  went  beyond  Boston  to  seek  for  Catholics 
to  serve.  Rousselet  opened  an  opposition  church 
of  his  own  and  drew  off  a  number  of  Father 
Thayer's  congregation.  This  necessitated  the 
Bishop's  visit  to  Boston,  where  by  his  prudence 
and  good  judgment  he  reconciled  and  reunited 
the  people,  and  established  order  and  discipline 
in  the  congregation  and  in  its  temporal  manage 
ment.  He  reported  the  number  of  Catholics  in 
Boston  as  one  hundred  and  twenty.  He  received 
courteous  and  hospitable  attention  from  the  peo 
ple  of  Boston ;  many,  who  told  the  Bishop  they 
would  have  crossed  to  the  opposite  side  of  the 
street  rather  than  meet  a  Catholic  priest,  now 
received  him  at  their  private  tables  and  at  public 
banquets,  where  he  was  politely  invited  to  ask  the 
benediction  on  the  guests.  Father  Thayer  was 
in  his  day  a  noted  controversialist,  being  zealous 


DIOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE. 


to  bestow  upon  all  others  the  grace  of  conver 
sion,  which  he  had  received.     He  advertised  in 
one  of  the  newspapers  of  Boston  that  he  would 
preach  in  neighboring  towns  on  evenings  during 
the  week  and  answer  objections  to  Catholic  doc 
trines.     It  was  an  invitation  to  the  public  gen 
erally  to   attend.     Rev.   Mr.   Leslie,  Congrega- 
tionalist  minister  of  Washington,  New  Hamp 
shire,  regarding  this  as  a  challenge,  accepted  it, 
and  Father  Thayer,  though  he  disclaimed  having 
challenged  any  of  the  ministers,  announced  his 
willingness  to  meet  Mr.  Leslie.     The  two  con 
troversialists  met  on  January  26,  1791.     Father 
Thayer   gave  an  exposition  of  Catholic   tenets 
and   the   proofs    thereof.     Mr.  Leslie  answered, 
but  confined  his  assaults  to  the  Infallibility  of 
the    Church.      Father    Thayer    replied   to    Mr. 
Leslie,  but  the  latter  gave  up  the  controversy, 
making   no   rejoinder.      But    Father    Thayer's 
public  efforts  drew  forth  the  fire  of  various  min 
isters,  lawyers  and  others.    He  made  a  published 
defence  of  the  Church,  pointed  out  her  marks 
of  truth  and   the   evidences  of  untruth  in  the 
Protestant  sects.     Desirous  of  a  Synod  in  com 
pliance  with    the  wishes  of  the    Holy    Father, 
Bishop   Carroll    made   preparations   to  convene 
the    clergy,   who    now   consisted   of    thirty-five 
priests,    attending   churches    at    Baltimore,    St. 
Inigoes,  Newtown,  Newport,  Port  Tobacco,  Rock 
Creek,  Annapolis,  Whitemarsh,  Bohemia,  Tucka- 
hoe,  Deer  Creek,  Frederick  and  Hagerstown,  in 
Maryland ;    at    Philadelphia,    Lancaster,    Cone- 
wago,     Goshenhoppen,      Elizabethtown,     York, 
Reading,  Carlisle  and  Greensburg,  in  Pennsyl 
vania  ;  at  Coffee  Run,  in  Delaware ;  New  York, 
Boston  and  Charleston ;  and  at  Vincennes,  Kas- 
kaskia,  Cahokia  and  Prairie  du  Rocher.     There 
were  other  churches  in  distant  parts  of  former 
French  or  Spanish  territory,  which  were  claimed 
or  governed  either  by  the  Bishop  of  Quebec  or 
by  the    Bishop   of  Havana.     Within    our   own 
territories   there   were    also    a   few   stations   or 
chapels  visited  occasionally  by  priests.     Numer 
ous  difficulties  had  to  be  met,  but  Bishop  Carroll 
met   and   overcame  them  with  his   accustomed 
address  and  administrative  ability.     The  clergy 
assembled  in  Diocesan  Synod  November  7,  1791, 
presided  over  by  Bishop  Carroll,  were  Very  Rev. 
James  Pellentz,  Vicar-General ;  Very  Rev.  James 
Frambach,    Vicar-General;   Very    Rev.    Francis 


Anthony    Fleming,    Dominican,   Vicar-General 
for  the  Northern   District ;    Very  Rev.  Robert 
Molyneux,  Vicar-General  for  the  Southern  Dis 
trict  ;  Rev.  Francis  Charles  Nagot,  Superior  of 
the   Sulpitians,    and    Reverends    John    Ashton, 
Henry  Pile,  Leonard  Neale,  Charles  Sewall,  Syl 
vester   Boarnian,  William    Elling,  James   Von- 
huffel,  Robert  Plunket,  Stanislaus  Cerfoumont, 
Francis     Preston,    Lawrence    Graessel,    Joseph 
Eden,  John  Jessier,  Anthony  Gamier  and  Rev. 
Canon  Lavan,  of  Tours.     For  the  first  time  was 
seen  in  Baltimore  the  simple  Ecclesiastical  pro 
cession  with  a  single  Bishop,  where  in  our  day 
is  witnessed  the  Conciliar  procession  with  Cardi 
nal,  twelve  other  Archbishops  and  seventy-three 
Bishops,    attended    by   Superiors   of    Religious 
Orders,    prelates,    theologians    and    priests    in 
countless     and     imposing     numbers.      Fathers 
Thayer   and    Bolton  joined  the  Synod  on  the 
fourth   day.     Statutes   were   enacted   in   regard 
to  the  administration  and  reception  of  the  sacra 
ments,  the  support  of  the  clergy  by  the  faithful, 
instruction  of  children,  the  celebrating  of  divine 
service,    observance   of    holidays,   on    Christian 
burial,  and  other  less  important  subjects.     After 
the  adjournment  of  the  Synod  Bishop  Carroll 
issued  an  admirable  Pastoral  on  Christian  Mar 
riage,    November    19,    1791 ;    and   on   May    28, 
1792,  he  issued  another  Pastoral  announcing  to 
the  faithful  the  results  of  the  Synod  and  the 
statutes  enacted.     This  able  and  beautiful  ad 
dress  was  universally  admired  by  the  good  and 
just  of  all  denominations.     The  proceedings  of 
the  Synod  were  not  only  approved,  but  much 
commended  at  Rome.     The   Synod  having  fa 
vored  the  appointment  of  a  co-adjutor  Bishop  to 
assist   Dr.    Carroll   in   his   arduous  labors,  the 
Holy  See  approved  this  suggestion,  and  author 
ized  the  Bishop,  after  consulting  the  older  and 
more   experienced   members   of  the    clergy,    to 
nominate  a  co-adjutor,  and  provided  that  the  co 
adjutor  should  succeed  on  the  death  of  Bishop 
Carroll  to  the  office  of  Bishop  of  Baltimore,  as 
the  Holy  See  did  not  intend  again  to  allow  an 
election  of  a  Bishop  by  the  clergy.     Bishop  Car 
roll  selected  for  nomination  to  the  Holy  See  Rev. 
Laurence  Graessel,  a  German,  a  man  of  learning 
and  truly  apostolic  zeal,  who  was  then  engaged 
in  the  arduous  task  of  reviving  and  serving  the 
missions  of  New  Jersey,  which  had  been  visited 


DIOCESE   OF   BALTIMORE. 


from  time  to  time  by  the  former  members  of  the 
Society  of  Jesus  from  Maryland  and  Pennsyl 
vania.  As  little  seemed  to  be  known  of  this 
holy  and  worthy  priest  beyond  a  beautiful  and 
touching  letter  he  addressed  to  his  mother  in 
Germany  just  before  his  death,  we  have  pro 
cured  for  our  readers  the  following  information 
concerning  him : 

Rev.  Laurence  Graessel  was  born  about  the 
year  1750,  in  the  small  town  of  Ruhmannsfel- 
den,  in  Bavaria ;  was  the  son  of  a  farmer,  studied 
theology  at  Ingolstadt,  with  the  distinguished 
German  Bishop  Sailer,  and  like  the  Prelate  had 
joined  the  Society  of  Jesus  just  before  its  sup 
pression,  both  being  of  the  same  age.  In  the 
works  of  Bishop  Sailer,  "  Letters  of  all  Christian 
Centuries,"  fifth  collection,  is  found  the  remark 
able  letter  which  Father  Graessel  wrote  to  his 
family  in  Germany,  dated  from  Philadelphia, 
June  19,  1793,  which  the  Bishop  deemed  worthy 
to  place  among  the  letters  of  the  most  eminent 
saints  and  divines  of  the  Church  in  all  ages. 
Prefatory  to  the  letter  of  Father  Graessel,  Bishop 
Sailer  himself  writes :  "  Not  without  tears  of 
friendship  in  my  eyes,  did  I  read  this  letter  of 
my  dear  former  fellow-student  of  Ingolstadt,  and 
I  think  no  eye  will  read  it  without  being  moved 
to  tears.  It  is  the  crown  placed  upon  the  whole 
collection  of  letters."  Father  Graessel's  health 
had  become  broken  down  by  the  labors  of  his 
missions;  he  immolated  himself  for  souls,  and, 
while  he  was  willing  to  accept  in  obedience  the 
burden  of  the  episcopate,  his  approaching  death 
was  hastened  by  the  humble  fear  and  conscien 
tious  distrust  he  felt  in  his  own  abilities.  His 
letter  announced  to  his  family  at  once  his  nomi 
nation  to  the  Episcopal  office  and  his  approaching 
death.  He  died  before  his  nomination  could  be 
confirmed  at  Rome,  of  yellow  fever,  contracted 
in  attending  the  sick  and  dying  yellow  fever 
patients  in  Philadelphia. 

Bishop  Carroll,  while  struggling  to  provide 
priests  and  churches  for  the  white  members  of  the 
flock,  did  not  lose  sight  of  the  Catholic  Indians. 
He  applied  to  President  Washington  for  aid  in 
reviving  the  Indian  missions,  which  under  the 
Constitution  could  not  be  extended ;  had  it  been 
in  the  President's  power  to  extend  government 
assistance  Bishop  Carroll  would  have  restored  the 
missions  to  their  first  efficiency  and  success. 


The  Passamaquoddies,  Micmacs,  and  Indians  on 
the  St.  John's  River,  in  Maine,  sent  deputies  to 
the  Bishop  to  request  a  priest,  and  presented  to 
him  an  ancient  crucifix  preserved  in  his  family 
by  a  chief,  mute  but  powerful  appeal  for  spiritual 
relief.  The  Bishop  replied  to  their  request  in 
paternal  words ;  and  having  promised  them  a 
priest,  sent  Rev.  Francis  Ciquard ;  subsequently 
the  good  and  noble  Abbes  Matignon  and  Cheve- 
rus,  of  Boston,  visited  and  cared  for  these  Indians, 
as  well  as  the  Penobscots ;  and  still  later,  Rev. 
Mr.  Romagne  was  sent  among  them  as  their 
pastor. 

The  increasing  revolutionary  troubles  in 
France  drove  into  exile  many  of  the  most 
learned,  zealous,  and  saintly  of  its  Catholic 
priests,  and  Bishop  Carroll,  while  on  all  occa 
sions  condemning  the  French  Revolution  and 
regretting  the  sufferings  of  the  Church  and  her 
ministers,  received  the  exiled  clergy  with  open 
arms  into  his  diocese.  Many  of  them  became 
illustrious  bishops  of  the  American  Church, 
founders  of  her  diocese  and  missions,  founders 
of  parishes,  seminaries,  and  colleges,  and  apos 
tolic  missionaries.  The  Sulpitians,  who  founded 
the  Theological  Seminary  at  Baltimore,  and  have 
ever  since  educated  the  exemplary  clergy  of 
Maryland,  were  the  first  of  the  French  clergy  to 
fly  from  the  Revolution  and  its  terrors.  In  1791, 
also,  came  Rev.  John  Du  Bois,  afterwards  Bishop 
of  New  York;  in  March,  1792,  Benedict  Joseph 
Flaget,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Bardstown  and 
Louisville,  and  John  B.  David,  Bishop  of  Bards- 
town,  Rev.  Mr.  Chicoisneau,  and  Stephen  Badiu 
and  Mr.  Barret,  ecclesiastical  candidates :  others 
who  came  were  Rev.  Mr.  Levadoux,  Rev.  Am 
brose  Marechal,  afterwards  Archbishop  of  Balti 
more,  Rev.  Gabriel  Richard,  Rev.  Francis  Ci 
quard,  Rev.  Francis  Anthony  Matignon.  In  1 794 
Bishop  Carroll  had  the  further  happiness  of  wel 
coming  to  his  new  diocese  from  revolutionary 
France,  Rev.  William  Louis  Du  Bourg,  after 
wards  Archbishop  of  New  Orleans,  Rev.  John . 
Moranville,  Rev.  Donatian  Olivier  and  Rev.  John 
Rivet;  in  1796,  Rev.  M.  J.  C.  Fournier,  and  Rev. 
John  Lefevre  Cheverus,  afterwards  Bishop  of 
Boston,  and  a  Cardinal  in  France;  and  in  1798, 
Rev.  Anthony  Salmon. 

Bishop  Carroll  on   September  22,  1792,  con 
ferred  deacon's  orders  on  Rev.  Stephen  T.  Badin, 


DIOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE. 


and  minor  orders  on  two  other  students  of  St. 
Mary's  Seminary  at  Baltimore,  and  ou  May  25, 
1793,  he  ordained  Mr.  Badin  in  the  priesthood; 
these  were  Bishop  Carroll's  first  and  second  ordi 
nations.  During  the  yellow-fever  epidemic,  which 
visited  Philadelphia  and  other  places  in  1793, 
and  succeeding  years,  the  Catholic  priesthood 
was  honored  in  the  examples  and  heroic  services 
of  its  members  to  the  sick  and  dying,  and  several 
of  its  most  useful  members  fell  victims  to  the 
scourge,  such  as  Rev.  Laurence  Graessel,  who 
had  been  appointed  co-adjutor  Bishop,  and  the 
two  distinguished  Dominicans,  Fathers  Francis 
Anthony  Fleming  and  Francis  V.  Keating.  The 
disease  returned  in  1797  and  1798,  and  among 
those  who  fell  victims  to  it  were  Rev.  Michael 
Ennis,  Rev.  Joseph  La  Grange,  and  Rev.  John 
Burke.  The  Catholic  clergy  were  heroic  in  their 
services  to  the  stricken  patients.  Rev.  John 
Floyd  and  Rev.  Michael  Cuddy  died  victims  of 
yellow  fever  in  Baltimore  in  later  years. 

Bishop  Carroll  approved  of  several  attempts 
of  religious  nuns  from  Europe  to  settle  in  the 
country,  among  whom  were  the  Poor  Clares  at 
Georgetown,  but  their  efforts  proved  but  tran 
sient.  He  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  and 
public-spirited  citizens  of  Baltimore,  and  was 
foremost  in  founding  the  public  library  of  the 
"Library  Company"  and  "The  Maryland  So 
ciety  for  Promoting  Useful  Knowledge."  His 
duties  were  so  laborious  that  he  again  sought  a 
co-adjutor,  and  Rev.  Leonard  Neale,  his  Vicar- 
General,  at  Philadelphia,  was  the  choice,  but 
great  delay  occurred  in  the  arrival  of  the  Bulls 
of  his  appointment,  which  were  dated  April  17, 
1795.  Father  Neale  was  a  truly  saintly  and 
apostolic  man ;  his  labors  in  Philadelphia  and 
elsewhere  were  untiring.  He  became  the  founder 
of  the  admirable  Sisterhood  of  the  Visitation  in 
this  country.  Under  his  guidance  Miss  Alice 
Lalor,  of  Philadelphia,  and  two  companions 
formed  a  little  community  in  Philadelphia,  and 
opened  a  female  academy,  but  all  but  Miss  Lalor 
died  of  the  yellow  fever,  and  the  project  was 
stayed.  In  1 799  Bishop  Carroll  appointed  Father 
Neale  President  of  Georgetown  College  to  succeed 
Rev.  William  Du  Bourg.  Miss  Lalor  and  a  com 
panion  went  about  the  same  time  to  Georgetown, 
and  became  teachers  in  the  academy  of  the  Poor 
Clares,  and  on  their  being  joined  by  another  lady 


from  Philadelphia,  Father  I\eale  soon  saw  them 
conducting  a  school  of  their  own,  on  land  pur 
chased  with  the  dower  of  the  last  comer,  part  of 
the  present  convent  grounds.  They  were  known 
as  the  "  Pious  Ladies,"  and  though  unforeseen 
obstacles  seemed  to  render  their  plans  impracti 
cable,  no  inducements  conld  divert  them  from 
their  purpose  of  founding  a  Visitation  Institu 
tion ;  they  rejected  tempting  offers  to  join  the 
Carmelites,  Ursulines,  Sacred  Heart,  and  other 
religious  Sisterhoods.  It  was  1813  before  they 
were  enabled  to  take  simple  vows  as  prescribed 
by  the  Visitation  Rules,  and  it  was  not  until 
Father  Neale  became  Archbishop  of  Baltimore, 
in  1815,  that  application  was  made  to  Rome  for 
permission  to  form  a  regular  community  of  the 
Order  of  the  Visitation.  This  constancy  was 
remarkable,  and  finally  was  crowned  with  suc 
cess. 

In  1791  a  schism  broke  out  in  Philadelphia, 
and  soon  afterwards  another  similar  schism  broke 
out  in  Baltimore,  both  originating  in  the  unworthy 
feeling  of  the  German  portions  of  those  congre 
gations  against  worshipping  with  Catholics  not  of 
their  own  nationality,  and  a  desire  to  have  Ger 
man  churches  for  themselves.  In  Philadelphia 
scandals  grew  out  of  the  dissensions  which  sprang 
up  among  the  seceding  Germans ;  a  schismatic 
priest  was  not  wanting  to  lead  the  schismatical 
laity,  and  it  was  not  until  1802  that  the  new 
German  congregation  of  Trinity  and  their  pastor 
acknowledged  the  authority  and  jurisdiction  of 
Bishop  Carroll.  German  Catholics  in  Baltimore, 
and  their  priest,  Rev.  Mr.  Renter,  made  common 
cause  with  the  excommunicated  German  priest 
and  with  the  people  of  Philadelphia,  and,  like 
them,  attempted  to  form  a  congregation,  open  a 
church  (St.  John's),  and  elect  their  own  pastor 
in  defiance  of  the  Bishop.  The  exercise  of  the 
spiritual  powers  of  the  Bishop  failing  to  secure 
perfect  peace  and  submission,  the  Bishop  carried 
the  matter  to  the  courts,  and  was  finally  sus 
tained  by  a  decision  of  the  General  Court  in  May, 
1805.  While  Bishop  Carroll  was  mild  and  gentle 
by  nature  and  by  self-culture,  his  courage  was 
unflinching  in  vindicating  the  just  authority  of 
the  Church.  He  had  many  difficulties  of  this 
kind,  and  it  was  seldom  that  his  good  manage 
ment,  with  time,  did  not  result  in  his  own  success 
and  the  peace  of  the  Church. 


10 


DIOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE. 


Bishop  Carroll  welcomed  to  his  diocese  Rev. 
John  Rosseter,  a  former  Chaplain  in  Rocham- 
beau's  army  in  our  Revolution,  an  Augus- 
tinian;  soon  after  Rev.  Matthew  Carr,  another 
Augustinian,  from  Dublin,  and  Rev.  Michael 
Ennis  ;  and  in  July,  1 796,  the  Augustinians  had 
procured  a  site  in  Fourth  street,  below  Vine 
street,  in  Philadelphia,  and  in  September  of  that 
year  the  corner-stone  of  St.  Augustine's  Church 
was  laid.  Bishop  Carroll  generously  favored 
their  efforts,  permission  was  obtained  from  Rome 
to  establish  Augustinian  convents  in  the  United 
States  with  the  assent  of  the  Bishop,  and  the 
church  was  dedicated  on  June  7,  1801,  a  lottery 
having  been  resorted  to  for  raising  funds  for  its 
erection.  The  Church  was  progressing  in  other 
parts.  In  1791  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania,  had 
250  communicants,  and  the  entire  district  of 
which  it  was  the  missionary  centre  1000  com 
municants.  Father  Field,  Fathers  Fitzsimmons 
and  de  Earth  de  Walbach  labored  with  great 
success.  In  New  York  Father  O'Brien,  a  Do 
minican,  and  Father  Burke  did  good  service,  the 
former  going  to  Mexico  on  a  collection  tour  for 
St.  Peter's.  Several  Dominicans  had  already 
labored  in  this  country,  but,  in  1803,  Most  Rev. 
Edward  Fenwick,  a  native  of  this  country  and 
member  of  the  English  Dominicans,  took  meas 
ures  with  the  Bishop  for  a  permanent  organiza 
tion  of  the  Order  here,  and  in  March,  1805, 
Father  Fenwick  procured  the  necessary  eccle 
siastical  authorizations  for  founding  the  American 
Province  of  the  Order  of  Preachers.  Fathers 
Edward  Fenwick,  Superior,  Thomas  Wilson, 
William  Raymond  Tuite,  and  Robert  Angier, 
while  awaiting  the  necessary  documents,  came 
to  America,  and  landed  in  Maryland  towards  the 
end  of  1804,  and  commenced  assisting  in  the 
Maryland  missions.  Bishop  Carroll  recom 
mended  them  to  take  Kentucky  for  their  field 
of  labor,  and,  in  1806,  Father  Fenwick  had  pur 
chased  a  tract  of  500  acres  of  land  near  Spring 
field,  in  Washington  county,  in  that  State,  the 
Church  of  St.  Rose  of  Lima,  first  American 
Saint,  was  started,  and  a  novitiate  was  opened  in 
1809. 

Catholic  settlers  between  New  York  and  Al 
bany  grew  in  numbers.  At  Albany  and  on  the 
Moha.wk  they  became  numerous,  and  in  1797  a 
Catholic  church  was  begun  and  was  soon  ready  for 


divine  service.  That  region  had  been  visited  by 
Fathers  Whelan  and  Flinn.  Rev.  Dr.  Matthew 
O'Brien  organized  the  congregation  in  1798,  and 
among  the  laity  Thomas  Barry  and  Louis  le 


Scene  on  the  Mohawk. 

Couteulx  were  most  active  and  generous.  In 
1800  Rev.  Mr.  Stafford  was  there,  and  in  1802 
Rev.  Dr.  Cornelius  Mahony  was  pastor  at  Albany 
and  attended  Schenectady.  Next  came  Rev. 
Luke  Fitzsimmons,  and  in  1806  Rev.  John  Byrne 
and  Rev.  James  M.  Burk,  whose  death,  in  1808, 
left  Albany  without  a  pastor.  The  trustees  of 
the  church  were  not  disposed  to  rest  without 
asserting  their  power  or  sometimes  interfering 
with  their  pastors. 

At  Boston  Father  Thayer  labored  zealously, 
but  not  always  wisely.  The  arrival  of  Rev. 
Francis  A.  Matignon  gave  a  powerful  impetus  to 
religion.  Rev.  Mr.  Ciquard  went  to  serve  the 
Indians,  and  on  October  3,  1796,  that  great  and 
apostolic  man,  Rev.  John  Cheverus,  arrived  at 
Boston,  who,  placing  himself  unreservedly  at 
Dr.  Carroll's  disposal,  labored  for  a  while  in  Bos 
ton,  and  then  relieved  Father  Ciquard  of  the 
Indian  missions  of  Maine.  Rev.  John  Cheverus 


DIOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE. 


ii 


embraced  the  Catholic  Indians  in  his  generous 
heart,  labored  for  them  like  a  true  Apostle,  did 
not  overlook  white  Catholics  whenever  he  could 
find  any  in  that  vast  field,  organized  the  Indian 
missions  on  a  good  basis,  and  then  rejoined 
Father  Matignon  at  Boston.  The  Church  in 
America  possessed  few  such  exalted  characters 
as  Fathers  Matignon  and  Cheverus.  Puritan 
prejudices  vanished  before  such  pure  Christian 
lives  and  such  daily  practice  of  every  virtue.  In 
the  yellow-fever  visitation  of  1798,  at  Boston, 
their  devotion  to  the  fever-stricken  and  their 
heroic  self-sacrifice  turned  the  public  sentiment 
into  unbounded  admiration.  Catholics  and  Prot 
estants  now  united  in  a  subscription  fund  for 
building  a  church ;  ground  was  acquired  in 
Franklin  street,  and  the  church  was  begun. 
Thus  President  Adams  and  other  Protestant 
gentlemen  subscribed  for  the  erection  of  a  Cath 
olic  church  in  Boston  where  a  few  years  before 
General  Washington  had  to  forbid  the  burning 
of  the  Pope  in  effigy.  Father  Thayer,  Rev.  John 
Ambrose  Souge,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Tisserant  labored 
in  other  parts  of  New  England,  while  Dr.  Chev 
erus  visited  the  Indians  of  Maine  and  all  the 
white  Catholics  he  could  find  north  of  Boston 
twice  a  year.  He,  on  one  of  these  visitations  in 
the  year  1800,  married  a  Catholic  man  and 
woman,  and  was  soon  after  arrested  and  prose 
cuted  for  violating  the  Massachusetts  law,  which 
prohibited  any  but  the  local  minister  or  justice 
of  a  place  from  performing  the  marriage  cere 
mony.  The  case  was  prosecuted  with  great 
vigor  and  rancor,  and  bravely  defended  on  behalf 
of  the  priest,  who  came  near  incurring  the  pen 
alty  of  the  pillory  and  a  fine  of  £80.  Adducing 
the  custom  of  the  old  French  missionaries,  the 
pastoral  of  Bishop  Carroll  on  Marriage,  and 
proving  himself  a  "local  minister"  of  Boston, 
Father  Cheverus  escaped  with  merely  the  liability 
to  a  civil  action,  and  it  was  his  own  good  fortune 
that  the  civil  suit  for  the  fine  of  ^f8o,  which  was 
vigorously  commenced,  was  finally  and  accident 
ally  lost  sight  of.  In  the  following  year  a  Cath 
olic  citizen,  who  maintained  a  Catholic  chapel  at 
which  Father  Cheverus  officiated  for  a  congrega 
tion,  and  who  contributed  to  the  support  of  a 
Catholic  priest  and  Catholic  worship,  was  ad 
judged  by  the  court  to  be  also  obliged  to  con 
tribute  to  the  support  of  the  local  Congregational 


minister.  Yet  with  such  persecutions  Catholicity 
made  progress  in  New  England.  In  1802  there 
were  200  Easter  Communions  in  New  England 
proper,  and  in  the  Eastern  division  fifty  Com 
munions.  There  were  also  some  scattered  Cana 
dian  Catholics  near  our  most  northern  boundary, 
and  Bishop  Carroll,  with  his  characteristic  good 
management  and  solicitude,  secured  for  them  the 
ministrations  of  Canadian  priests  from  the  other 
side  of  the  border,  and  of  Bishop  Denaut,  of 
Quebec,  to  administer  confirmation  to  them. 

St.  Mary's  Seminary  grew  in  numbers  and  in 
usefulness  at  Baltimore ;  St.  Mary's  Church  was 
built  and  dedicated  to  divine  service ;  and,  while 
the  arrival  of  the  Sulpitians  in  this  country  en 
abled  Bishop  Carroll  to  provide  western  missions 
with  other  priests  and  also  to  develop  vocations 
at  home,  the  Sulpitians  themselves  labored  on 
the  missions,  and  accepted  pastoral  charge  of 
several  western  parishes.  Rev.  Mr.  Levadoux 
was  pastor  at  Kaskaskia,  and  Father  Richard 
and  Father  Janin  successively ;  and  Rev.  Mr. 
Emery  had  thought  of  a  permanent  Sulpitian 
foundation  among  the  French  in  the  Great  Lake 
region.  Young  men  from  Europe  and  some 
from  this  country  entered  St.  Mary's  as  candi 
dates  for  the  priesthood,  and  the  most  distin 
guished  and  remarkable  of  these  was  Demetrius 
Augustin  Gallitzin,  a  young  Russian  prince,  who 
visited  this  country  in  1792  with  Rev.  Francis  X. 
Brosius,  entered  the  Seminary  in  November  of 
that  year,  and  was  ordained  a  priest  on  March  18, 
1795.  He  became  one  of  the  most  celebrated 
missionaries  of  America,  extending  his  labors 
over  considerable  parts  of  Maryland  and  Penn 
sylvania,  commencing  his  apostolic  labors  at 
Conewago,  thence  to  Taneytown,  Pipe  Creek, 
Hagerstown  and  Cumberland,  in  Maryland,  and 
to  Chambersburg,  Path  Valley,  and  Shade  Valley 
and  Huntingdon,  in  Pennsylvania.  Fathers  Pel- 
lertz  and  Brosius  were  the  pioneers  of  this  exten 
sive  region.  In  1799  Father  Gallitzin  erected  a 
log  church,  St.  Michael's,  for  the  Catholics  of 
Frankstown  and  Sinking  Valley  ;  he  became  an 
American  citizen  under  the  name  of  Augustine 
Smith,  devoted  his  fortune  to  the  American  mis 
sions  under  his  care,  made  many  converts  to  the 
faith,  extended  his  missions  into  Cambria  county, 
Pennsylvania,  labored  in  a  vast  wilderness  where 
he  greatly  extended  the  faith,  and  built  his  famous 


12 


DIOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE. 


missionary  Church  of  Loretto.  He  made  medi 
cine  a  study,  for  the  relief  of  his  flocks,  and 
became  a  physician  of  the  body  as  well  as  of  the 
soul.  His  sufferings  and  trials  were  great; 
though  a  rigid  disciplinarian  his  heart  was  full 
of  charity  ;  he  adopted  a  family  of  orphans  in  the 
wilderness,  laid  noble  plans  for  evangelizing  that 
extensive  region,  and  bore  much  opposition  and 
calumny. 

Besides  the  apostolic  labors  of  Fathers  Pellentz 
and  Brosius,  a  French  Catholic  settlement  with 
priests  was  made  at  Asylum,  in  Luzerne  county, 
in  1794,  and  Father  Brouwers  commenced  a  mis 
sion  in  Western  Pennsylvania,  and  at  his  untimely 
death,  in  1790,  bequeathed  his  property  for  that 
noble  purpose.  A  German  priest  named  Fromm, 
without  authority,  took  possession  of  Father 
Brouwers'  money  and  his  mission.  Bishop  Car 
roll  had  to  resort  to  the  courts,  and,  in  1798,  he 
obtained  a  decision  in  his  favor.  Many  such 
or  similar  cases  clouded  the  history  of  the  Church 
in  those  early  days,  and  made  the  life  of  the  first 
Bishop  one  of  anxiety  and  care.  Other  mission 
aries  labored  in  Western  Pennsylvania,  such  as 
the  Capuchin  Father  Helbron,  who,  in  1805,  in 
one  missionary  tour  traversed  five  counties ;  Rev. 
Mr.  Flinn,  who  assisted  him  ;  the  Franciscan 
Father  Lonergan,  who  labored  in  Northumber 
land,  Westmoreland,  Washington  and  Greene 
counties  ;  and  Fort  Pitt,  formerly  Fort  Duquesne, 
now  Pittsburg,  at  the  close  of  the  last  century, 
began  to  receive  visits  from  missionary  priests. 
The  Catholics  of  Delaware,  whose  numbers  were 
increased  by  the  arrival  of  the  French,  who  fled 
from  the  negro  atrocities  in  San  Domingo,  re 
ceived  spiritual  attention  from  Bishop  Carroll 
and  some  of  the  members  of  the  late  Society  of 
Jesus. 

Appointed  by  Bishop  Carroll  to  the  Kentucky 
missions,  Father  Badin  assumed  the  care  of  a  vast 
field,  of  which  he  made  Scott  county  the  mis 
sionary  centre,  and  extended  his  apostolic  labors 
far  and  near.  Father  Badin,  then  quite  young, 
and  Rev.  Mr.  Barrieres,  whom  Bishop  Carroll  had 
appointed  Vicar-General  for  the  West,  travelled 
on  foot  to  Pittsburg,  from  which  place  to  Mays- 
ville  they  travelled  on  a  flatboat  with  their  lives 
in  danger  from  accident  or  violence  from  travel 
ling  companions,  and  from  Maysville  to  Lex 
ington  again  on  foot.  They  visited  the  French 


settlement  at  Gallipolis,  Ohio,  and  gave  them 
High  Mass,  administering  the  sacraments  on 
the  journey  whenever  needed.  Father  Barrieres, 
finding  a  mission  in  the  backwoods  distasteful, 
left  the  field  to  the  untiring  and  persevering  zeal 
of  Father  Badin.  Father  Thayer,  of  Boston, 
who  had  just  found  the  pastoral  charge  of  Alex 
andria,  Virginia,  distasteful  to  him  on  account 
of  the  existence  of  slavery  there,  spent  four  years 
on  the  Kentucky  mission,  but  here,  too,  he  en 
countered  slavery,  and  the  eccentricities  of  his 
life  were  not  according  to  Father  Badin's  stricter 


ss  in  the  Wilderness. 

views ;  so  he  retired  from  the  country  and  spent 
his  remaining  years  in  doing  good  at  Limerick, 
in  Ireland.  Father  Badin's  labors  in  Kentucky 
were  exhausting  and  courageous ;  scarcely  an 
other  priest  in  America  would  have  remained  in 
such  a  disheartening  mission,  for  he  had  no  as 
sistance  that  availed  him,  the  flock  had  relaxed 
in  faith  and  morals,  and  the  field  was  unbounded. 
He  built  a  log  hut  and  chapel  at  Pettinger's 
Creek,  site  of  the  present  Loretto  Convent,  and 
hence  he  attended  Catholics  at  Lexington,  in 
Scott,  Madison  and  Mercer  counties,  at  Holy 
Cross,  Bardstown,  Harding's  Creek,  Rolling  Fork 


DIOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE. 


and  Poplar  Neck.  It  was  1797  before  he  received 
an  assistant  in  Rev.  Mr.  Fournier,  who  divided 
the  mission  with  him  ;  and  Father  Salmon,  who 
went  to  aid  him  in  1799,  soon  after  was  killed  by 
being  thrown  from  his  horse.  Such  was  the  fruit 
of  Father  Badin's  apostolic  labors  in  Kentucky, 
that  congregations  were  organized  in  many  places, 
and  a  great  demand  was  made  on  Bishop  Carroll 
for  priests  to  serve  them,  and  the  Bishop,  on  his 
part,  was  constantly  appealing  to  Europe  for 
relief. 

Natchez  and  Vicksburg  having  been  ceded  to 
the  United  States,  Bishop  Carroll  was  unable  to 
provide  them  with  priests  or  secure  the  church 
property  there,  but  the  Bishop  of  Louisiana  took 
temporary  charge.  In  Charleston,  South  Caro 
lina,  the  priest,  Rev.  Mr.  Gallagher,  neglected  his 
duties  and  scandalized  religion,  refusing  to  turn 
over  the  church  to  Father  Ryan  or  to  Father  Le 
Mercier,  as  requested  by  the  Bishop,  continuing 
to  officiate  in  disobedience  to  his  Bishop,  and 
finally  appealing  to  Rome.  The  trustees  sided 
with  Gallagher :  they  attempted  to  tear  down  the 
church  rather  than  allow  the  priest  sent  by  the 
Bishop  to  say  Mass,  and  were  only  prevented  from 
doing  so  by  the  better  members  of  the  congrega 
tion.  Father  Le  Mercier  extended  his  ministry 
to  North  Carolina,  and  in  1812  Bishop  Carroll 
confided  the  Carolina  mission  to  Rev.  Mr.  Clori- 
viere,  who  did  much  good  for  religion.  Abbe  Le 
Moine  was  the  first  priest  in  Bishop  Carroll's 
time  to  evangelize  Georgia;  his  death  in  1796  left 
Georgia  without  a  priest.  Bishop  Carroll  was 
unable  to  accept  offers  of  large  tracts  of  land  in 
Georgia  because  he  could  not  get  priests  for  the 
missions,  but  in  1803  Abbe  Carles,  from  San  Do 
mingo,  served  the  Catholics  in  Savannah,  Au 
gusta,  and  other  places. 

The  late  French  territory  to  the  northwest  of 
the  Ohio  River,  after  the  treaty  of  peace  and 
independence,  by  its  remoteness  from  central 
sources  of  civil  and  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction, 
suffered  much  for  political  and  spiritual  care  and 
protection  for  some  time  after  the  Revolution. 
Father  Gibault  was  serving  at  Kaskaskia,  and 
the  Capuchin  Father  Bernard,  from  his  St.  Louis 
mission,  visited  Cahokia,  Michigan,  Ogdensburg, 
Niagara,  Sandusky,  Michilimackinac,  and  other 
territory  near  the  military  posts,  which  were  still 
in  English  possession,  and  spiritually  in  commu 


nication  with  the  Bishop  of  Quebec.  Father 
Gibault  still  held  his  appointment  as  Vicar- 
General  of  Quebec.  The  Bishops  of  Baltimore 
and  Quebec  were  in  doubt,  and  corresponded  on 
the  subject  of  their  jurisdiction.  In  1785  Father 
Gibault  made  Vincennes  his  head-quarters ;  in 
his  account  of  his  labors  he  says  :  "  All  the  pains 
and  hardships  I  have  undergone  in  my  different 
journeys  to  most  distant  points,  winter  and  sum 
mer,  attending  to  many  villages  in  Illinois,  dis 
tant  from  each  other,  in  all  weather,  night  and 
day,  snow  and  rain,  wind,  storm  or  fog,  on  the 
Mississippi,  so  that  I  never  slept  four  nights  in 
a  year  in  my  own  bed,  never  hesitating  to  start 
at  a  moment's  notice,  whether  sick  or  well."  His 
services  and  residence  were  requested  at  so  many 
places  that  the  people  of  Vincennes  hoped  to  re 
tain  him  by  building  a  good-sized  church.  The 
missionary's  life  was  in  danger  from  hostile  In 
dians.  Father  Gibault  barely  saved  his  life  from 
them  on  one  occasion ;  Frenchmen  not  unfre- 
quently  being  killed.  Father  Gibault  finally  re 
tired  to  Spanish  territory.  As  time  advanced 
Father  Hubert  was  Vicar-General  of  Bishop  Car 
roll  in  the  west,  Father  Paget  was  pastor  at  De 
troit,  from  which  he  visited  Vincennes  and  other 
places.  Father  Edmund  Burke  made  a  noble 
effort  to  revive  the  Indian  missions  in  the  North 
west,  but  afterwards  became  pastor  at  Detroit. 
At  Gallipolis,  in  Ohio,  a  French  settlement  was 
formed,  a  Benedictine  monk,  Dom  Didier,  was 
appointed  Prefect  Apostolic,  but  afterwards  the 
settlement  languished  and  Dom  Didier  went  and 
labored  earnestly  at  St.  Louis.  The  retirement 
of  Father  Gibault,  in  1791,  was  followed  by  that 
of  Father  St.  Pierre,  in  1792,  but  in  this  year 
Bishop  Carroll  sent  Father  Levadoux  to  Kaskas 
kia,  and  Father  Richard  was  there  also,  before  he 
went  to  Detroit.  Rev.  Mr.  Lusson  was  sent  to 
Cahokia,  in  1798,  extending  his  care  to  Prairie 
du  Rocher,  and  beyond  the  Mississippi.  In  1799 
the  two  Rev.  Brothers  Olivier  labored  through 
this  extensive  field.  The  arrival  of  Rev.  Bene 
dict  Joseph  Flaget,  of  the  Congregation  of  St. 
Sulpice,  at  Vincennes,  in  1792,  brought  the  con 
solations  of  religion  to  many  for  several  years, 
but  in  1795  his  superiors,  on  account  of  his 
broken  health,  recalled  him  to  Baltimore. 

Bishop  Carroll  endeavored  to  revive  the  Indian 
missions  in  the  Northwest ;  wrote  to  President 


DIOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE. 


Washington  on  the  subject  of  governmental  aid, 
but  the  executive  had  no  constitutional  power. 
Afterwards  by  the  authority  of  Congress,  Rev. 
Mr.  Rivet  was  appointed  United  States  chaplain, 
received  also  the  appointment  of  Vicar-General 
from  Bishop  Carroll,  labored  earnestly  among  the 
Indians,  and  visited  the  whites  at  Fort  Knox, 
and  other  places.  In  1 796  Bishop  Carroll  sent 
Vicar-General  Levadoux  to  Detroit,  afterwards 
Rev.  Gabriel  Richard  and  Rev.  John  Delhet,  and 
finally  Father  Richard  became  pastor  at  Detroit, 
where  he  faithfully  served  for  many  years,  and 
won  all  hearts  by  his  heroic  devotion.  His 
efforts  for  the  Church  involved  him  in  debt,  for 
which  he  suffered  imprisonment,  and  the  people, 
in  order  to  relieve  his  necessities,  elected  him  to 
Congress  ;  he  resided  several  years  in  Washing 
ton,  serving  in  Congress,  and  living  with  Father 
Matthews,  the  venerable  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's 
Church.  Father  Richard's  apostolic  labors  in 
the  Northwest  have  made  his  name  celebrated  in 
our  annals. 

While  rejoicing  at  the  revival  and  extension 
of  religion  in  the  Northwest,  Bishop  Carroll  had 
reason  also  to  feel  a  paternal  happiness  at  seeing 
it  progress  in  other  parts  of  this  vast  diocese. 
Rev.  John  Du  Bois,  who  afterwards  became 
Bishop  of  New  York,  attended  a  devout  congre 
gation  in  Richmond,  Virginia,  in  1791,  and  used 
for  this  purpose  a  room  in  the  State  Capitol, 
which  at  other  hours  of  Sunday  was  used  by 
other  denominations  for  their  services.  So  in 
1811,  Rev.  Mr.  Miguel,  after  many  years  of  re 
ligious  inactivity  in  Richmond  following  the 
return  of  Father  Du  Bois  to  Maryland,  was  sent 
by  Bishop  Carroll  to  that  place,  where  a  church 
had  been  begun  in  1799.  In  Norfolk  Rev. 
Michael  Lacy  labored  zealously  and  effectively 
from  1803  till  his  death,  in  1815,  and  did  much 
to  repair  the  dilapidated  church  and  grave-yard. 
In  Alexandria  a  half-acre  lot  was  donated  for  a 
church,  and  in  1796  the  church  was  com 
menced.  Rev.  Leonard  Neale  attended  the  con 
gregation  from  Georgetown  College ;  the  old 
church  site  was  abandoned  as  too  remote,  and  in 
1808  and  1809  a  Methodist  meeting-house  was 
purchased,  improved,  and  turned  into  a  Catholic 
church.  Besides  Father  Thayer  and  Father 
Neale,  Alexandria  had  for  pastors  Rev.  Mr. 
Eden  in  1804,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Gousy  in  1805. 


The  Church  also  was  growing  in  Pennsylvania ; 
in  Lancaster  Father  de  JBarth  served  the  mission 
and  erected  a  church  in  1796.  The  Bishop 
visited  all  the  congregations  of  his  diocese  which 
were  accessible,  and  gave  confirmation  in  them. 
His  labors  were  very  exhausting.  The  New 
Jersey  missions  were  attended  from  Philadelphia 
and  New  York ;  a  permanent  congregation  was  or 
ganized  at  Trenton,  which  in  1799  was  attended 
by  Rev.  Mr.  Boury,  and  in  1803  Bishop  Carroll 
was  called  thither  by  disturbances  in  the  church. 

The  death  of  General  Washington  in  Decem 
ber,  1799,  made  a  deep  impression  on  all  Catho 
lics,  but  to  Bishop  Carroll  his  death  was  more 
than  the  loss  of  the  Father  of  his  country — it 
was  the  loss  of  a  personal  friend.  Congress 
recommended  all  denominations  to  make  public 
commemoration  of  the  great  departed.  Bishop 
Carroll,  on  February  22,  1800,  before  a  crowded 
audience  in  his  pro-Cathedral  of  St.  Peter,  pro 
nounced  a  eulogy  on  Washington,  which  has 


George  Washington. 

been  greatly  admired  as  one  of  the  best  writings 
the    English    language.     Of  this  admirable 


in 


address    Mr.    Robert    Walsh,    of    Philadelphia, 
used  the  following  striking  words :  "  We  have  heard 


DIOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE. 


from  some  of  the  most  intelligent  and  observant 
of  his  auditors,  when  he  delivered  his  masterly 
funeral  panegyric  on  Washington,  in  which  he 
recited  the  terrors,  the  encouragements,  the  dis 
tresses,  and  the  glories  of  the  struggle  for  in 
dependence,  that  he  appeared  to  be  laboring 
under  intense  emotions  correspondent  to  those 
topics — to  be  swayed  like  the  aged  minstrel  of 
the  poet,  with  contagious  influences,  by  the 
varied  strains  which  he  uttered."  A  few  extracts 
from  Dr.  Carroll's  eulogy  on  Washington  will 
convey  some  faint  idea  of  the  whole  performance. 
"  Whether  we  consult  our  own  experience,  by 
bringing  into  comparison  with  Washington  any 
of  our  cotemporaries,  most  eminent  for  their 
talents,  virtues  and  services,  or  whether  we 
search  through  the  pages  of  history,  to  discover 
in  them  a  character  of  equal  fame,  justice  and 
truth,  we  will  acknowledge  that  he  stands  super- 
eminent  and  unrivalled  in  the  annals  of  man 
kind  ;  that  no  one  before  him,  acting  in  such  a 
variety  of  new  and  arduous  situations,  bore  with 
him  to  the  grave  a  reputation  as  clear  from  law 
less  ambition,  and  as  undefiled  by  injustice  or 
oppression :  a  reputation  neither  depressed  by 
indolence,  nor  weakened  by  irresolution,  nor 
shadowed  by  those  imperfections  which  seemed 
to  be  the  essential  appendages  of  human  nature, 
till  Providence  exhibited  in  Washington  the  ex 
traordinary  phenomenon."  "  What  language 
can  be  equal  to  the  excellence  of  such  a  char 
acter  ?  What  proportion  can  exist  between 
eloquence  and  the  tribute  of  praise,  due  to  such 
virtue  ?  Nevertheless,  my  fellow-citizens,  I  read 
in  the  eagerness  of  your  attention,  your  desire 
to  offer  this  tribute.  Methinks  I  hear  your 
filial  piety,  your  tender  reverence  for  your  best 
friend,  the  father  of  his  country,  calling  on  me 
to  bear  for  you,  at  least,  a  feeble  testimony  of 
your  unextinguishable  gratitude  for  his  services, 
your  immortal  remembrance  of  and  veneration 

for  his  virtues Pardon,  O  departed  spirit 

of  the  first  of  heroes !  if  in  the  cold  accents  of 
an  exhausted  imagination,  I  likewise  dare  attempt 
to  celebrate  thy  name,  whilst  so  many  sons  of 
genius,  ardent  with  grateful  vigor,  delineate  in 
glowing  colors  the  vivid  features  of  thy  mind, 
and  the  glorious  deeds  of  thy  virtuous  life."  .  .  . 
"  He  contemplated  with  Christian  piety,  and  the 
philosophy  of  a  sage,  the  most  remarkable  revo 


lutions  and  occurrences  of  former,  as  well  as  his 
own  times,  and  learned  therefrom  to  refer  every 
human  event  to  the  moral  government  of  a  su 
preme  intelligent  Being."  ...  "  This  virtuous 
maxim  of  religious,  moral  and  political  wisdom, 
so  deeply  impressed  on  him,  never  perhaps  was 
more  illustrated,  than  by  the  course  of  Providence 
in  preparing  and  adapting  his  body  and  mind  to 
suit  the  destinies  of  his  life.  He  was  to  himself 
a  luminous  proof  of  that  truth  which  was  so 
rooted  in  his  soul."  .  .  .  "  Here  language  fails : 
I  dare  not,  I  cannot  follow  the  heroic  Washing 
ton  in  the  career  of  his  military  glory.  To 
baffle  the  stratagems  of  the  ablest  generals,  to 
repel  the  onsets  of  the  bravest  and  best  disciplined 
armies,  what  had  America  to  place  in  his  hands? 
neither  soldiers  trained  to  arms,  nor  accustomed 
to  subordination,  nor  the  implements  of  war,  nor 
the  treasures  to  purchase  them.  But  the  genius 
of  the  commander  finally  supplied  every  defi 
ciency.  He  introduced  order  and  discipline ;  in 
spired  love  and  confidence;  and  with  these 
auxiliaries,  he  kept  together  unclothed  and  un 
paid  armies,  which,  under  other  generals,  would 
perhaps  have  demanded  justice  at  the  point  of 
their  bayonets.  Always  vigilant  to  foil  hostile 
attempts  he  exhausted  the  resources  of  the 
enemy  without  suffering  them  to  force  him  to 
action.  Tender  of  the  blood  of  his  fellow- 
soldiers,  and  never  exposing  their  lives  without 
cause  or  prospect  of  advantage,  humanity  was  as 
dear  to  him  as  victory ;  as  his  enemies  that  fell 
into  his  power  always  experienced."  .  .  .  "How 
sacred  was  his  respect  to  the  civil  authority ! 
how  effectual  his  protection  of  the  property  of 
his  fellow-citizens  !  "  .  .  .  "  The  last  act  of  his 
supreme  magistracy  was  to  inculcate,  in  the 
most  impressive  language,  on  his  countrymen, 
or  rather  on  his  dearest  children,  this  his  delib 
erate  and  solemn  advice,  to  bear  incessantly  in 
their  minds,  that  nations  and  individuals  are 
under  the  moral  government  of  an  infinitely 
wise  and  just  Providence;  that  the  foundations 
of  their  happiness  are  morality  and  religion,  and 
their  union  among  themselves  their  rock  of 
safety  ;  that  to  venerate  their  Constitution  and  its 
laws  is  to  insure  their  liberty." 

"  Washington  beheld  from  his  retirement,  as 
the  Jewish  legislator  from  the  summit  of  Mount 
Phasga,  the  flourishing  prosperity  of  his  country. 


Tfi 


DIOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE. 


Health  sweetened  his  repose  and  rural  occupa 
tion  ;  his  body  and  mind  retained  their  usual 
vigor.  We  flattered  ourselves  with  the  expecta 
tions  of  his  continuing  long  to  retain  them  ;  joy 
beamed  in  our  hearts  when  on  every  annual  revo 
lution  we  gratefully  hailed  this,  his  auspicious 
birth-day.  But,  alas  !  how  dark  is  the  cloud  that 
now  overshadows  it !  The  songs  of  festivity  are 
converted  into  the  throbs  of  mourning !  The 
prayers  of  thanksgiving  for  his  health  and  life 
changed  into  lamentations  for  his  death.  Who 
feels  not  for  him,  as  for  his  dearest  friend,  his 
protector  and  his  father?  Whilst  he  lived  we 
seemed  to  stand  on  loftier  ground,  for  breathing 
the  same  air,  inhabiting  the  same  country,  and 
enjoying  the  same  Constitution  and  laws  as  the 
sublime  and  magnanimous  Washington.  He 
was  invested  with  a  glory  that  shed  a  lustre  on 
all  around '  him.  For  his  country's  safety,  he 
often  had  braved  death  when  clad  in  her  most 
terrific  form ;  he  had  familiarized  himself  with 
her  aspect ;  at  her  approaching  to  cut  the  thread 
of  his  life  he  beheld  her  with  constancy  and 
serenity,  and  with  his  last  breath  as  we  may  be 
lieve  from  knowing  the  ruling  passion  of  his  soul, 
he  called  to  heaven  to  save  his  country,  and  rec 
ommended  it  to  the  continual  protection  of  that 
Providence  which  he  so  reverently  adored.  May 
his  prayer  have  been  heard !  May  these  United 
States  flourish  in  pure  and  undefiled  religion,  in 
morality,  peace,  union,  and  liberty,  and  the  en 
joyment  of  their  excellent  Constitution,  as  long 
as  respect,  honor,  and  veneration  shall  gather 
around  the  name  of  Washington  ;  that  is,  whilst 
there  shall  be  any  surviving  record  of  human 
events." 

The  Papal  Bulls  appointing  Father  Neale  co 
adjutor  Bishop  miscarried  twice;  the  third  set  of 
documents  arrived  in  the  summer  of  1800,  and 
on  December  7  he  was  consecrated  under  the 
title  of  Bishop  of  Gortyna,  by  Bishop  Carroll,  in 
the  pro-Cathedral  of  St.  Peter,  with  ceremo 
nies  most  imposing  for  those  days.  Bishop  Car 
roll  had  at  one  time  thought  of  applying  to  Rome 
for  the  erection  of  another  Episcopal  See,  but 
the  co-adjutorship  was  adjudged  sufficient  for 
present  emergencies.  Various  measures  for  the 
advancement  of  the  religious  interests  of  the 
country  occupied  Bishop  Carroll's  time  and 
thoughts ;  Rev.  Michael  Egan,  a  Reformed  Fran 


ciscan,  from  Ireland,  came  and  assisted  Father 
de  Barth,  at  Lancaster,  and  with  the  approval  of 
the  Bishop  endeavored  to  secure  a  foundation  of 
that  Order.  Bishop  Carroll  also  endeavored  to  se 
cure  priests  and  professors  for  Georgetown  College, 
and  priests  for  the  mission  ;  he  tried  to  secure  a 
colony  of  the  Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  at  George 
town,  into  which  the  Pious  Ladies  might  enter,  and 
in  1803  he  had  the  consolation  of  dedicating  with 
all  possible  solemnity  the  Church  of  the  Holy 
Cross,  at  Boston,  where  his  virtues  and  noble  bear 
ing  made  a  fine  impression ;  he  had  the  consolation 
of  seeing  many  new  churches  and  chapels  erected 
and  supplied  with  priests  throughout  Maryland. 
The  capital  of  the  United  States  was  to  be  located 
at  the  projected  city  of  Washington,  and  the  Dis 
trict  of  Columbia  was  set  apart  so  as  to  include 
the  college  and  Georgetown,  where  the  Church 
of  the  Holy  Trinity  was  erected ;  a  site  for  a 
church  in  Washington  City  was  obtained  from 
the  Public  Commissioners,  St.  Patrick's  was 
erected,  and  attended  by  Father  Caffrey  until 
1805,  and  he  was  succeeded  by  the  venerable 
Father  William  Matthews,  who  for  fifty  years 
lived  the  model  of  a  Christian  life,  served  his 
congregation  with  paternal  zeal,  and  removed 
many  prejudices  from  the  minds  of  public  men 
of  ability  and  distinction  resorting  to  Washing 
ton  from  every  part  of  the  United  States.  Barry's 
Chapel  was  also  erected  at  the  east  end  of  Wash 
ington  ;  Daniel  Carroll,  of  Duddington,  gave  a 
site  for  St.  Peter's  Church,  on  Capitol  Hill,  and 
Nicholas  Young,  a  square  for  a  cemetery.  In  all 
parts  religion  was  making  a  progress  most  con 
soling  to  the  patriarch  of  religion  in  the  United 
States. 

Bishops  Carroll  and  Neale  and  all  their  asso 
ciates  in  the  suppressed  Society  of  Jesus  had 
never  ceased  praying  for  the  restoration  of  the 
Society.  Under  the  refusal  of  the  Empress 
Catherine  of  Russia,  the  Brief  of  Pope  Clement 
XIV.,  suppressing  the  Society,  had  never  been 
published  in  Russia,  in  which  country,  even 
with  the  sanction  of  Pope  Clement,  the  Jesuits 
maintained  their  organization.  Under  Pope 
Pius  VI.  a  Jesuit  Novitiate  was  opened  in 
Russia,  and  in  1782  the  Fathers,  with  the 
authority  of  the  Empress  and  sanction  of  the 
Pope,  elected  a  General  of  the  Society,  resident 
in  Russia.  On  March  7,  1801,  Pope  Pius  VII. 


DIOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE. 


formally  recognized  and  restored  the  Society  in 
Russia.  Bishops  Carroll  and  Neale,  in  1803, 
wrote  to  Father  Gruhn,  the  General  in  Russia, 
for  permission  to  the  Maryland  members  of  the 
late  Society  to  become  members  of  the  Russian 
Province,  and  the  General's  answer  being  most 
cordial  in  the  affirmative,  the  living  members  in 
Maryland  of  the  late  Society  renewed  the  vows 
as  members  of  the  Society  of  Jesus.  Bishops 
Carroll  and  Neale  would  gladly  have  resigned 
their  Episcopal  offices  and  rejoined  the  Society 
as  private  members,  but  feared  least  their  suc 
cessors  might  be  less  favorable  to  the  Society, 
which  they  could  better  serve  by  retaining  their 
positions  as  Bishops.  Bishop  Carroll  appointed 
Father  Molyneux  Superior  of  the  Jesuits,  and 
he  took  up  his  residence  at  Georgetown  College. 
Bishop  Neale  resigned  the  presidency  of  the 
College  in  1806,  and  Father  Molyneux  suc 
ceeded  him.  The  Russian  General  of  the  Order 
sent  over  to  this  country,  in  1805,  two  members 
of  the  Society,  Fathers  Adam  Britt  and  John 
Henry,  and,  in  1806,  Fathers  Francis  Maleve, 
Anthony  Kohlmann  and  Peter  Epinette.  The 
General  regularly  appointed  Father  Molyneux 
Superior  in  February  22,  1806,  and  in  October 
of  that  year  a  Novitiate  of  the  Society  was 
opened  at  Georgetown  College.  The  Novitiate 
was  soon  supplied  with  Novices  from  Maryland, 
and  the  Fathers  re-entered  into  possession  of 
their  old  estates  in  that  State. 

Father  Badin's  labors  in  Kentucky  were  ex 
traordinary  ;  the  missions  were  left  there  in  his 
exclusive  care  without  assistance.  He  spent  most 
of  his  time  in  the  saddle;  was  strict  in  his 
notions  of  a  Christian  life,  of  which  he  gave  an 
example  in  himself.  Some  idea  can  be  formed 
of  his  labors  from  the  fact  that  he  travelled  in 
cessantly  over  the  State  to  minister  to  the  wants 
of  scattered  families  and  small  congregations, 
spending  his  nights  in  families  whom  he  in 
structed  in  their  catechism,  morning  and  evening 
prayers,  approaching  the  sacraments,  the  rosary 
and  other  devotions  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  the 
duty  of  instructing  their  children  in  the  faith, 
and  he  required  his  people  to  attend  Mass 
punctually  where  the  walk  was  not  over  five  or 
the  ride  not  over  ten  miles.  Such  were  the 
labors  of  a  priest  in  the  primitive  days  in  our 
country.  In  July,  1805,  Father  Badin  received 


an  invaluable  assistant  from  Bishop  Carroll,  in 
the  person  of  the  celebrated  missionary  Rev. 
Charles  Nerinckx  from  Belgium,  whose  apostolic 
labors  in  Kentucky  were  only  equalled  by  his 
own.  Father  Nerinckx,  after  residing  for  a 
short  time  with  Father  Badin,  took  up  his  head 
quarters  at  Rolling  Fork,  and  commenced  or 
ganizing  new  congregations,  building  log  chapels 
and  churches,  and  extending  his  missionary 
labors  far  and  near.  He  was  very  kind  to  a 
colony  of  Trappist  Monks,  who  attempted  to 
found  a  community  of  their  rigid  Order  in 
Kentucky  in  1805,  but  sickness  and  death  in 
their  ranks  caused  them  to  remove  from  Pottin- 
ger's  Creek  to  Casey's ;  in  1809  they  went  to 
Florissant,  Missouri;  in  1810  to  Glass  Prairie ; 
Illinois,  where  their  place  was  called  Monk's 
Mound;  and  in  1813  Father  Urban,  their  Su 
perior,  returned  with  most  of  the  Trappists  to 
Europe.  Fathers  Badin  and  Nerinckx  exected 
a  church  in  Danville,  Kentucky,  which  was  lost 
to  religion  through  the  business  misfortunes  of 
the  donor  of  the  land,  and  soon  a  church  at 
Louisville  was  the  fruit  of  their  earnest  labors. 
The  advent  of  the  Dominicans  to  Ohio,  in  1806, 
was  an  important  event :  the  Convent  of  St. 
Rose  of  Lima  was  founded,  an  Academy  was 
held  in  prospect,  and  Father  Edward  Fenwick 
was  made  Superior ;  but  from  humility  and  a 
desire  to  go  out  upon  the  arduous  work  of  the 
missions  he  resigned  this  office  to  Father  Wilson. 
A  Novitiate  was  started  in  1809.  Father 
Fenwick  commenced  his  work  by  travelling  to 
the  centre  of  the  State,  where  he  found  four 
Catholic  families,  and  so  by  untiring  efforts  he 
planted  Catholicity  in  that  region.  In  one  of  his 
excursions  he  discovered  seven  Catholic  families 
in  Cincinnati.  By  his  great  labors  Father 
Fenwick  became  recognized  and  known  as  the 
Apostle  of  Ohio. 

As  early  as  1802  Bishop  Carroll  announced 
his  intention  of  undertaking  the  erection  of  a 
Cathedral,  worthy  of  the  American  Church, 
and  then,  too,  his  far  reaching  thoughts  led  him 
to  correspond  with  Rome  in  relation  to  the 
subdivision  of  his  vast  diocese,  and  the  erec 
tion  of  additional  Episcopal  sees.  On  July 
7,  1806,  he  laid  the  corner-stone  of  the 
imposing  and  massive  Cathedral  of  Balti 
more,  of  which  Mr.  B.  Henry  Latrobe  was  the 


i3 


DIOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE. 


architect.  The  great  cost  of  the  site  proposed 
caused  the  Bishop  to  commence  removing  the 
dead  from  St.  Peter's  cemetery  with  a  view  to 
erecting  the  Cathedral  there,  and  it  was  after 
considerable  opposition  to  this  site  from  both  the 
clergy  and  the  laity,  that  he  yielded  to  their 
wishes,  and  with  the  aid  of  an  additional  sub 
scription  list  secured  the  present  site.  The 
building  fund  was  also  aided  by  a  lottery,  a 
means  quite  commonly  resorted  to  in  those  days 
to  promote  public  and  religious  improvements. 
The  ceremonies  at  the  corner-stone  were  made 
most  impressive,  the  leading  feature  being  a  pro 
cession  through  the  streets  headed  by  a  cross- 
bearer  and  followed  by  all  the  ecclesiastical 
students,  twenty  priests,  and  the  Bishop  in  cope 
and  mitre,  witnessed  by  nearly  the  entire  popu 
lation  of  Baltimore.  Bishop  Carroll  delivered 
one  of  his  most  feeling  and  impressive  sermons. 
On  June  18,  1804,  he  laid  the  corner-stone  of 
St.  Mary's  Chapel  at  the  Sulpitian  Seminary, 
and  on  the  loth  of  July  that  of  St.  Patrick's 
Church  at  Fells  Point,  of  which  Father  Moran- 
vil!6  was  pastor,  and  which  was  dedicated  on 
November  29,  1807. 

While  Bishop  Carroll,  after  great  personal 
exertions,  prevented  the  withdrawal  of  the  Sul- 
pitians  from  this  country  to  France,  when  their 
Congregation  was  restored  in  that  country,  he 
saw  in  Georgetown  College  an  institution  which 
fitted  young  men  for  business  and  professional 
pursuits  and  developed  vocations  for  the  priest 
hood.  The  presidents  were  Rev.  Robert  Plun- 
kett,  in  1791,  when  the  college  opened;  Rev. 
Robert  Molyneux,  in  1794,  when  the  corner 
stone  of  the  north  building  was  laid;  from  1796 
to  1798,  Rev.  William  Du  Bourg,  during  whose 
administration  General  Washington  visited  the 
college,  and  for  eight  years  from  1798,  Rev. 
Leonard  Neale;  in  1801  a  class  of  philosophy 
was  added  to  the  college  course ;  in  1808  the 
Novitiate  was  established.  Among  the  earliest 
students  were  two  nephews  of  Bishop  Carroll, 
also  William  Gaston,  of  North  Carolina,  and 
Robert  Walsh,  of  Philadelphia.  St.  Mary's 
College,  at  Baltimore,  was  also  a  great  factor 
of  good  results  ;  the  Sulpitians  established  their 
Petit  Seminaire  at  Pigeon  Hills,  Pennsylvania, 
in  August,  1807,  and  in  1809  the  seminary  was 
transferred  from  there  to  Emmitsburg,  Mary 


land,  where  Fathers  Du  Bourg  and  Du  Bois  had 
purchased  the  lands  in  1808;  such  was  the  origin 
of  Mt.  St.  Mary's  College. 

In  New  England  the  Church  made  good  prog 
ress.  Fathers  Matignon  and  Cheverus  illus 
trated  in  their  simple  and  laborious  lives  the 
virtues  of  the  early  Christians,  attending  to  the 
spiritual  wants  of  the  Catholics  in  Massachu 
setts,  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island,  Vermont,  New 
Hampshire  and  Maine;  such  places  as  Salem, 
Providence,  Newport,  Bristol  and  Burlington 
receiving  regular  periodical  visits.  Father  Che 
verus  also  visited  the  Penobscot  and  Passama- 
quoddy  Indians  until  Rev.  James  Romagne,  in 
1 804,  became  their  permanent  pastor.  This  last 


Missionary  Teaching  the  Indians. 

missionary,  though  of  weak  health,  served  the 
Indians  for  twenty  years,  residing  in  a  log  hut 
and  officiating  in  a  log  chapel.  In  1805  the 
Catholic  population  of  Boston  was  estimated  at 
five  hundred.  At  Damariscotta,  in  Maine,  a  fine 
brick  church,  St.  Patrick's,  was  erected  in  1808' 
and  blessed  by  Father  Cheverus  in  behalf  of  the 
Bishop.  Bishop  Carroll  extended  his  fostering 
care  to  the  educational  institutions  of  St.  Mary's, 
of  Baltimore,  Georgetown  College  and  Mt.  St. 
Mary's.  Georgetown  College  completed  the  new 
building  in  1808,  had  both  novitiate  and  scholas- 


DIOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE. 


ticate,  and  on  the  death  of  Father  Molyneux  had 
Father  Matthews  for  president.  On  June  u, 
1808,  Bishop  Carroll  ordained  at  Baltimore  Rev. 
Messrs.  O'Brien  and  Roloff,  and  at  Georgetown 
Bishop  Neale  ordained  Rev.  Enoch  Fenwick, 
Rev.  James  Spink,  Rev.  Leonard  Edelen,  and 
Rev.  Benedict  Joseph  Fenwick,  afterwards  second 
Bishop  of  Boston. 

The  time  had  now  arrived  when  the  long  de 
sired  subdivision  of  the  vast  American  diocese 
was  at  hand;  Bishop  Carroll  had  for  several 
years  corresponded  with  Rome  on  the  subject. 
He  had  been  requested  to  forward  the  names  of 
the  priests  he  deemed  worthy  of  the  appoint 
ments.  It  was  finally  decided  to  erect  the  new 
Sees  of  Boston,  New  York,  Philadelphia  and 
Bardstown,  Kentucky.  Dr.  Carroll's  nomina 
tions  were  Rev.  Patrick  Michael  Egan,  a  Fran 
ciscan,  for  Philadelphia;  Dr.  Matignon  having 
declined,  he  nominated  Father  Cheverus,  for 
Boston;  Rev.  Benedict  Joseph  Flaget,  a  Sulpi- 
tian,  for  Bardstown,  all  which  were  accepted 
and  approved  at  Rome ;  having  recommended 
Rome  to  confide  the  care  of  the  New  York  dio 
cese  to  the  Bishop  of  Boston,  the  Holy  Father 
appointed  to  that  See  the  Dominican  Father 
Richard  Luke  Concanen,  of  Rome.  The  Papal 
Bulls  erecting  the  four  new  Sees  of  New  York, 
Boston,  Philadelphia  and  Bardstown  were  issued 
on  April  8,  1808,  and  also  the  Brief  erecting  the 
See  of  Baltimore  into  an  Archiepiscopal  See. 
Owing  to  the  delay  of  Dr.  Concanen  in  getting 
to  sea  and  his  untimely  death  at  Naples,  the 
Bulls  of  the  new  Bishops  and  the  Pallium  for 
the  new  Archbishop  were  delayed  in  Europe. 
In  this  emergency  Dr.  Concanen  sent  one  set 
of  authenticated  copies  to  Mr.  Emery,  Superior 
of  the  Sulpitians  at  Paris,  and  another  set  by 
Rev.  Maurice  Vircla,  a  Franciscan  coming  to 
America.  One  set  of  the  documents  having 
arrived,  Bishop  Carroll  consecrated  Right  Rev. 
Patrick  Michael  Egan,  Bishop  of  Philadelphia, 
at  St.  Peter's  pro-Cathedral  on  Sunday,  Oc 
tober  28,  1810;  he  consecrated  Right  Rev. 
John  Cheverus  Bishop  of  Boston  in  the  same 
church  on  November  12;  and  he  consecrated 
Right  Rev.  Benedict  Joseph  Flaget  Bishop  of 
Bardstown  at  St.  Patrick's  Church,  Baltimore,  on 
November  4.  These  important  and  august  cere 
monies  were  purposely  surrounded  by  Bishop 


Carroll  with  all  possible  solemnity  and  grandeur. 
Rev.  W.  V.  Harold  preached  at  the  consecra 
tion  of  Bishop  Cheverus,  and  Bishop  Cheverus 
preached  at  the  consecration  of  Bishop  Flaget. 
Having  received  a  letter  from  Bishop  Concanen 
authorizing  him  to  appoint  a  Vicar-General  for 
the  New  York  Diocese,  Bishop  Carroll  appointed 
Rev.  Anthony  Kohlmann,  of  the  Society  of  Jesus, 
to  that  office,  and  that  gentleman  proceeded  im 
mediately  to  that  city.  Archbishop  Carroll  now 
made  a  report  to  Rome  of  the  three  consecrations 
he  had  just  made.  The  three  Suffragan  Bishops 
remained  for  two  weeks  with  Archbishop  Carroll, 
at  Baltimore,  deliberating  on  the  affairs  and  in 
terests  of  the  American  Church.  The  Bishops 
issued  a  truly  Apostolic  and  impressive  Pastoral, 
which  was  dated  November  15,  1810,  and  was 
signed  by  Archbishop  Carroll,  Coadjutor  Bishop 
Neale,  Bishop  Egan,  Bishop  Cheverus,  and 
Bishop  Flaget.  The  principal  subjects  alluded 
to  in  this  Pastoral  were :  ist.  Pastors  were  not  to 
allow  priests  to  officiate  in  any  of  the  churches 
of  the  various  Dioceses  without  exhibiting  au 
thentic  proofs  of  possessing  the  Bishop's  permis 
sion  ;  ad.  Requiring  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism 
to  be  administered  in  church,  except  in  cases  of 
necessity ;  3d.  Recommending  the  celebration  of 
marriage  to  be  performed  in  church  when  possi 
ble  and  convenient;  4th.  Pastors  were  to  dis 
courage  the  faithful  from  entertainments  and 
diversions  dangerous  to  morals,  such  as  theatres 
and  dancing  assemblies,  and  against  reading 
novels  and  other  dangerous  books ;  5th.  Pastors 
were  not  to  admit  to  the  Sacraments  persons 
who  were  members,  of  Freemasons'  Associations. 
Archbishop  Carroll  made  great  efforts  to  commu 
nicate  with  the  imprisoned  Pontiff,  Pope  Pius 
VII.,  but  without  success.  Finally,  with  much 
perseverance  and  care  a  memorial  from  the  Amer 
ican  Bishops  was  gotten  into  the  hands  of  Pius 
VII.,  but  his  rigid  imprisonment  by  Napoleon 
prevented  his  replying  to  it.  Archbishop  Carroll 
addressed  a  communication  to  the  trustees  of  the 
principal  churches  in  the  new  Dioceses,  notifying 
them  of  the  requirement  of  the  Holy  See  that 
provision  be  made  for  the  support  of  the  Bishops. 
Bishop  Carroll  had  found  great  difficulty  in 
securing  the  acceptance  of  the  mitre  by  several 
of  the  ecclesiastics  nominated  for  the  new  Sees. 
Rev.  Mr.  Matignon,  to  whom  he  deemed  it  due 


20 


DIOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE. 


that  the  See  of  Boston  should  be  offered,  carried 
his  remonstrances  against  being  appointed  for  the 
Episcopal  office  so  far  as  to  threaten  to  leave 
America  if  Bishop  Carroll's  design  was  per 
severed  in.  It  was  fortunate  that  so  worthy  a 
priest  was  available  for  the  appointment  as  Dr. 
Cheverus,  who  also  felt  appalled  at  the  designa 
tion  of  his  name  and  to  whom  Mr.  Matignon 
generously  attributed  all  the  good  for  religion 
accomplished  in  New  England.  Father  Flaget, 
nominated  for  the  See  of  Bardstown,  went  to 
Europe  to  escape  the  appointment.  Father  David, 
the  missionary  of  Kentucky,  would  have  received 
the  appointment  for  Bardstown,  but  for  the  great 
severity  of  his  views  and  discipline,  which  had 
made  him  unpopular.  Of  Rev.  Patrick  Michael 
Egan,  whom  Bishop  Carroll  nominated  for  the  See 
of  Philadelphia,  it  might  well  be  said  that  his 
learning,  zeal  and  piety  were  only  surpassed  by 
his  humility.  Dr.  Concanen,  a  learned  Domini 
can  at  Rome,  who  had  already  refused  a  uiitre, 


arose  from  the  bed  of  sickness  at  the  com 
mand  of  the  Pope  to  accept  the  See  of  New 
York,  for  Cardinal  di  Pietro  there  visited  him 
and  told  him  for  the  Holy  Father  that  he  must  ac 
cept  the  appointment  in  obedience  to  the  will  of 
God.  The  last  appointment  was  not  made  through 
the  nomination  of  Bishop  Carroll,  but  rather 
through  the  recommendation  of  Archbishop 
Troy,  of  Dublin,  who  exerted  at  Rome  a  great 
influence  in  the  ecclesiastical  affairs  of  America. 
Bishop  Concanen,  however,  had  been  a  corre 
spondent  of  Bishop  Carroll. 

Hereafter  we  must  view  the  several  Dioceses 
separately,  and  give  their  histories  independently 
of  each  other.  America  now  had  its  Hierarchy, 
an  Ecclesiastical  Province  with  an  Archbishop 
and  four  Suffragan  Bishops.  Contrast  it  with  the 
imposing  Hierarchy  of  the  present  day,  with  one 
Cardinal  Archbishop,  twelve  other  Archbishops, 
and  seventy-three  Bishops ;  there  are  also 
one  Prefect-Apostolic,  and  eight  Mitred  Abbots. 


Cecil  Calvert  (Lord  Baltimore), 


COPYRIGHTED  18  89. BY  GEBBIE 


HIS  EMINENCE  JAMES  CARDINAL   GIBBONS. 


•  His  EMINENCE  JAMES  CARDINAL  GIBBONS, 

FIRST   VICAR-APOSTOLIC   OF    NORTH  CAROLINA,    FOURTH    BISHOP   OF   RICHMOND,   NINTH   ARCHBISHOP    OF 

BALTIMORE,   AND  SECOND  AMERICAN  CARDINAL. 


'  ARDINAL  GIBBONS,  by  his 

activity  and  faithful  services 
in  the  various  important  eccle 
siastical  positions  he  has  held, 
has  won  admiration  at  home 
and  abroad,  and  has  thus  risen 
rapidly  to  the  highest  honors 
of  the  Church.  Born  near 
the  Cathedral  in  Baltimore  on 
July  13,  1834,  and  baptized 
by  that  eminent  priest  and 
scholar,  Dr.  Charles  I.  White.  He  was  educated 
in  Ireland,  where  he  won  favor  by  his  application 
to  study  and  his  edifying  conduct.  Embracing 
the  ecclesiastical  vocation,  he  returned  to  Mary 
land,  and  made  his  preparatory  course  at  St. 
Charles'  College,  afterwards  completed  his  the 
ology  at  St.  Mary's  College,  Baltimore,  and  was 
ordained  by  Archbishop  Kenrick  in  March,  1860. 
His  first  services  were  at  St.  Patrick's  Church, 
Baltimore,  then  at  St.  Bridget's,  Canton,  where 
he  also  attended  St.  Lawrence's,  at  Locust  Point, 
as  well  as  the  Catholic  soldiers  at  Fort  McHenry. 
Thence  he  was  selected  by  Archbishop  Spalding 
as  one  of  the  assistants  at  the  Cathedral  and  as 
his  own  secretary.  Such  were  his  aptness  for 
affairs  and  his  zeal  that  he  was  selected  for  the 
first  Vicar- Apostolic  of  North  Carolina  by  the 
Second  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore,  and  was 
consecrated  by  Archbishop  Spalding,  in  the 
Cathedral,  on  August  16,  1868,  under  the  title 
of  Adramyttum,  and  proceeded  at  once  to  his 
difficult  and  arduous  task,  making  St.  Thomas's 
Church,  at  Wilmington,  North  Carolina,  his  pro- 
Cathedral. 

His  work  in  North  Carolina  was  remarkable  ; 
with  not  over  two  priests  in  the  State,  he  secured 
the  services  of  others  in  a  sparse  field,  and  with 
seven  hundred  Catholics  he  increased  their  num 


bers  by  conversions.  By  arduous  visitations 
through  the  State,  preaching  and  lecturing  in  all 
the  towns,  and  wherever  court-house,  meeting 
house,  or  hall  was  obtainable,  he  removed  preju 
dices  and  won  souls.  He  prepared  his  admirable 
book,  The  Faith  of  Our  Fathers,  which  he  seems 
to  have  specially  adapted  to  the  Southern  mind, 
and  many  have  been  convinced  by  its  sound  and 
unanswerable  arguments.  No  other  Catholic 
book  of  the  kind  has  ever  been  printed  and  circu 
lated  in  such  numbers  in  this  country.  On  July 
30,  1872,  he  became  Bishop  of  Richmond,  as 
successor  to  the  able  controversialist,  Dr.  McGill, 
and,  though  he  still  remained  Vicar-Apostolic  of 
North  Carolina,  he  made  his  labors  and  visita 
tions  untiring  and  fruitful  in  both  States.  Such 
was  his  usefulness  that,  in  1877,  he  was  ap 
pointed  co-adjutor  of  Archbishop  Bayley,  of  Bal 
timore,  under  the  title  of  Bishop  of  Janopolis ; 
on  May  2Qth  assumed  the  actual  charge  and 
labors  of  the  Archdiocese  in  consequence  of  the 
feeble  health  of  the  Archbishop,  and  upon  his 
death,  in  October  of  the  same  year,  he  succeeded 
as  Archbishop  of  Baltimore,  receiving  the  pallium 
on  February  10,  1878.  In  Maryland,  where  he 
was  so  well  known  and  so  congenial  to  the  peo 
ple,  his  activity  even  increased  and  his  successes 
multiplied.  In  the  midst  of  arduous  labors  he 
has  found  time  to  visit  various  parts  of  the 
United  States,  and  he  visited  Rome  as  one  of  the 
prelates  invited  to  confer  with  the  Pope  on  the 
proposed  measures  for  the  forthcoming  Plenary 
Council  of  Baltimore,  to  revise  his  little  book, 
write  for  the  Catholic  journals,  visit  his  diocese, 
and  preach  frequently.  He  rendered  active  and 
useful  services  to  the  American  Church  in  pre 
paring  for  and  presiding  over  the  Third  Plenary 
Council  in  November,  1884,  and  in  promoting 
the  founding  of  the  American  Catholic  Univer- 

(21) 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE. 


sity,  the  corner-stone  of  which  he  laid  at  Wash 
ington,  on  May  24,  1888. 

On  June  7,  1886,  he  was  elevated  by  Pope  Leo 
XIII.  to  the  Cardinalate,  as  a  reward  of  his  labors 
and  a  tribute  to  the  venerable  See  of  Baltimore. 
On  June  3oth  he  received  the  red  beretta  from 
the  hands  of  Archbishop  Keiirick,  of  St.  Louis, 
which  had  been  brought  over  from  Rome  by 
Monsignor  Straniero  and  Count  Muccioli,  with 
the  most  brilliant  ceremonies,  in  presence  of 
prelates,  priests,  and  people,  and  Archbishop 
Ryan,  of  Philadelphia,  preached  the  sermon. 
Since  his  elevation  his  labors  and  visitations 
have  not  diminished,  but  his  duties  have  in 
creased.  His  popularity  is  great.  He  takes  an 
interest  also  in  national  affairs  and  is  public- 
spirited.  He  took  part  in  the  celebration  of  the 
Constitutional  Centennial  at  Philadelphia,  in 
September,  1887,  where  he  offered  a  prayer,  and 
in  November,  1888,  was  the  first  American  Prel 
ate  to  issue  a  Thanksgiving  circular,  which  we 
give  as  follows : 

"  To  the  Clergy,  Secular  and  Regular,  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Balti 
more  : 

"Mv  DEAR   BRETHREN   IN   CHIRST:— The   President  of  the 
United   States  has  recently  issued  his  proclamation   appointing 


November  29  next  as  a  special  day  of  thanksgiving  to  Almighty 
God  for  the  temporal  and  spiritual  favors  bestowed  upon  us  all 
during  the  year  now  drawing  to  a  close.  The  faithful  of  the  Arch 
diocese,  having  in  common  with  our  fellow-citizens  deep  cause  for 
gratitude  to  the  Giver  of  every  good  and  perfect  gift,  will,  we  feel 
confident,  be  equally  desirous  of  evincing  their  spirit  of  thanks 
giving. 

"We  should  all  be  grateful  for  the  temporal  prosperity,  for  the 
peace,  liberty,  and  good  order  which  prevail  throughout  our  com 
mon  country.  The  labors  of  the  husbandmen  have  been  crowned 
with  abundant  harvests ;  commerce  and  industrial  pursuits  have 
gone  forward  with  even  stride.  The  spirit  of  fraternal  chanty 
keeps  pace  with  the  diffusion  of  Christian  knowledge  in  the  land. 

"  It  is  true,  indeed,  that  disasters  by  floods  and  storms  in  the 
West  and  that  pestilence  in  the  South  have  darkened  and  afflicted 
many  a  home.  But  even  in  those  visitations  of  sorrow  we  should 
humbly  bless  Our  Heavenly  Father,  whose  mysterious  dispensa 
tions  we  cannot  fathom,  but  should  always  adore.  We  should  kiss 
the  hand  that  strikes  as  well  as  the  hand  that  caresses,  for  whether 
He  smites  or  fondles  He  is  always  a  loving  Father.  And  these 
occasional  calamities  are  but  the  shadows  that  bring  out  in  bolder 
relief  the  bright  picture  of  our  national  prosperity. 

"While,  too,  in  other  lands  the  times  for  choosing  the  rulers  of 
the  nation  are  often  occasions  of  political  convulsion,  of  the  inter 
ruption  of  all  peaceful  pursuits,  and  sometimes  even  of  strife  and 
bloodshed,  the  recent  contest  between  ten  millions  of  voters  of  the 
Republic,  representing  sixty  millions  of  people,  has  been  settled 
peaceably  and  constitutionally,  without  the  loss  of  a  single  life,  or 
even  any  interruption  in  men's  ordinary  avocations. 

"  In  heartfelt  and  grateful  acknowledgment  of  all  these  blessings, 
and  to  humbly  implore  their  continuance,  you  are  requested, 
reverend  dear  fathers,  to  recite  after  the  late  Mass  in  your  respective 
churches  on  Thanksgiving  Day  the  prayer  for  the  authorities,  and 
the  faithful  throughout  the  Archdiocese  are  invited  to  assist  at  the 
service. 

"J,  Card.  GIBBONS,  Archbishop  of  Baltimore." 


Georgetown  College. 

CHAPTER  II. 
PROVINCE  OF  BALTIMORE — ARCHDIOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE. 

History  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Baltimore  from  1810,  arid  of  the  Suffragan  Dioceses  of  Charleston,  Richmond,  Savannah,  St.  Augustine, 
Wheeling,  and  Wilmington,  and  the  Vicariate  Apostolic  of  North  Carolina,  from  their  Erection  to  the  Present  Time. 


FTER  the  division  of  the  orig 
inal  Diocese  of  Baltimore  by 
the  erection  of  the  Sees  of  Bos 
ton,  New  York,  Philadelphia, 
and  Bardstown,  the  Archdi 
ocese  of  Baltimore  embraced 
the  States  of  Maryland,  Vir 
ginia,  North  Carolina,  South 
Carolina,  Georgia,  with  the 
western  territory  covering  the 
present  States  of  Alabama  and 
Mississippi,  and  the  pistrict  of  Columbia.  In 
addition  to  the  above,  Archbishop  Carroll  had  to 
bear  the  burden  of  the  administration  of  the  vast 
Diocese  of  Louisiana  and  East  and  West  Florida. 
Desirous  of  composing  the  difficulties  of  the  last- 
named  Diocese,  the  Archbishop  requested  Father 
Nerinckx  to  undertake  the  task  of  restoring  order 
there,  but  that  excellent  but  resolute  priest  re 
fused  the  duty ;  he  next  suggested  Rev.  William 
Louis  Du  Bourg  for  this  office,  but  his  duties  as 


President  of  Georgetown  College  and  the  needs 
of  the  College  prevented  his  absence  from  George 
town.  The  Archbishop  then  sent  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Sibuard  to  New  Orleans.  He  also  requested 
Bishop  Plessis,  of  Quebec,  to  continue  his  Epis 
copal  services  to  the  Catholics  on  the  North 
western  boundaries.  It  was  a  convenient  arrange 
ment  of  all  questions  of  jurisdiction,  by  which 
Bishop  Plessis  made  Bishops  Cheverus  and 
Flaget  and  Father  Kohlmann  his  Vicars-Gen 
eral,  and  these  in  turn  appointed  Bishop  Plessis 
Vicar-General  in  the  Dioceses  of  Boston,  New 
York,  and  Bardstown.  Bishop  Cheverus  per 
formed  all  necessary  Episcopal  offices  for  the 
Diocese  of  New  York,  and  all  the  newly  ap 
pointed  Bishops  and  Father  Kohlmann,  as  Ad 
ministrator  of  New  York,  applied  constantly  to 
Archbishop  Carroll  for  advice  and  guidance  in 
the  organization  and  government  of  their  re 
spective  Dioceses. 

Religion    grew    strong   and    flourishing   near 


24 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE. 


Emmittsburg,  where,  as  we  have  seen,  the  Sul- 
pitians  had  placed  their  little  Seminary.  Rev. 
John  Du  Bois,  the  missionary  of  that  region, 
built  a  church  on  the  mountain,  which  was  vis 
ited  by  Bishop  Carroll  in  1808.  In  1809  sixteen 
young  ecclesiastical  students  from  Pigeon  Hills 
reached  Mt.  St.  Mary's,  log-houses  being  the 
only  accommodations  for  priests,  professors,  and 
pupils.  Father  Du  Bois  began  the  log-houses  in 
two  rows  ;  these  were  the  original  College  build 
ings,  in  which  academic  instruction  was  given 
to  secular  pupils,  all  Catholics.  In  1810  the 
College  had  forty  students  ;  in  1830  sixty. 

But  a  new  and  most  important  element  was  to 
enter  into  the  religious  and  educational  activity 
and  destiny  of  Emmittsburg.  Mrs.  Elizabeth  A. 
Seton,  a  widow-lady  of  New  York  city,  possessed 
of  great  accomplishments,  beauty,  and  social 
eminence,  had  become  a  convert  to  the  Catholic 
faith.  Her  children  followed  her  example.  De 
serted  by  old  friends,  a  little  school  she  opened 
in  New  York  was  not  patronized,  and  she  thought 
of  trying  the  more  Catholic  atmosphere  of  Can 
ada.  Her  ecclesiastical  friends,  Dr.  Matiguon, 
Father  Cheverus,  and  Mr.  Tisserant  saw  in  her 
deep  piety,  her  pure  nature,  her  exalted  charac 
ter,  and  devout  aspirations  evident  signs  of  a 
high  vocation.  By  their  advice  we  find  her, 
accompanied  by  her  daughters,  opening  a  school 
in  Baltimore  near  St.  Mary's,  whose  devotion- 
inspiring  chapel  attracted  this  beautiful  soul  to 
the  Masses  from  dawn  till  breakfast-time,  and  to 
daily  Benediction.  Her  school  gained  scholars, 
and  her  pious  household  gained  pious  compan 
ions.  In  1809  the  holy  members  of  the  house 
hold  assume  a  religious  habit,  take  the  three 
vows  of  poverty,  chastity,  and  obedience,  and 
devote  themselves  to  education  and  to  charity. 
Bishop  Carroll  blessed  their  community  and 
received  their  vows.  Rev.  Mr.  Cooper,  also  a 
convert,  purchased  property  for  them  at  Emmitts 
burg,  and  in  May,  1809,  Mrs.  Seton,  her  daugh 
ters,  two  sisters-in-law,  and  one  of  her  companions 
from  Baltimore  occupied  a  log-hut  on  Mt.  St. 
Mary's,  and  in  1810  they  occupied  the  new  house 
erected  for  them  by  Mr.  Cooper,  under  the  pat 
ronage  of  St.  Joseph.  They  devoted  themselves 
to  teaching  the  poor,  visiting  the  sick,  and  to  the 
conduct  of  an  Academy.  In  1810  Bishop  Flaget 
arriving  from  Etirope,  placed  in  Mrs.  Seton's 


hands  a  copy  of  the  Institute  of  the  French  Sis 
ters  of  Charity  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  and  this 
formed  the  model  of  their  organization.  Bishop 
Carroll  made  changes  in  the  rules  suited  to  their 
situation.  In  1812  the  Sisterhood  received  his 
official  approbation,  Mrs.  Seton  was  elected  Mother 
by  the  Sisters,  and  Rev.  John  Du  Bois  was  ap 
pointed  their  Superior. 

On  August  n,  1811,  Archbishop  Carroll  re 
ceived  the  Palliiim,  emblem  of  his  Archiepis- 
copal  jurisdiction,  which  had  been  sent  through 
the  British  Minister,  from  the  hands  of  Bishop 
Neale.  The  West  India  Islands,  including  Santa 
Cruz,  St.  Monica,  St.  John,  St.  Eustatia,  Ber- 
buda,  St.  Kitts,  and  St.  Antigua,  were  placed 
under  his  jurisdiction,  and  he  took  immediate 
steps  for  the  care  of  the  religious  interests  of 
Catholics  there.  At  the  consecration  of  the  new 
Bishops,  in  1810,  it  was  understood  that  a 
Provincial  Council  should  be  held  in  Baltimore 
in  1814,  but,  as  the  Pope  was  still  a  prisoner, 
and  no  authority  could  be  obtained  from  him  for 
holding  the  Council,  it  was  indefinitely  post 
poned.  Religion  had  greatly  progressed  up  to 
this  time  in  the  Diocese  of  Baltimore,  but  the  war 
of  1812  checked  its  march.  Though  opposed 
to  the  policy  of  war,  being  a  Federalist,  Arch 
bishop  Carroll  supported  his  own  country  in  the 
struggle,  as  did  all  his  clergy.  Now  the  news 
of  Napoleon's  fall  arrived,  the  Sovereign  Pontiff 
returned  in  triumph  to  Rome,  and  Archbishop 
Carroll  issued  a  Pastoral  of  congratulation  to  his 
people  on  the  subject,  and  in  accordance  with  his 
request  a  Te  Deum  was  chanted  in  all  the 
churches.  In  the  summer  of  1814  the  din  of 
war  resounded  near,  Washington  was  captured, 
and  though  the  British  were  repulsed  from  Balti 
more,  the  lower  counties  of  Maryland  were  over 
run,  and  divine  service  in  many  places  suspended. 
The  Archbishop  had  prayers  for  the  success  of 
our  cause  said  in  all  the  churches.  The  death 
of  Bishop  Egan  left  two  of  his  Suffragan  Sees 
vacant,  which  caused  great  anxieties  to  the  Arch 
bishop,  who  used  his  best  efforts  to  guard  the 
interests  of  religion  in  the  Dioceses  of  New  York 
and  Philadelphia.  In  the  midst  of  his  sorrows 
he  was  cheered  by  the  news  of  the  restoration  of 
the  Society  of  Jesus  by  Pope  Pius  VIII.,  which 
was  done  on  August  7,  1814.  He  had  also  the 
consolation  of  seeing  Georgetown  College  advance 


ARCHDIOCESE   OF   BALTIMORE. 


under  the  able  presidency  of  Father  Grassi  to 
great  prosperity.  The  Sodality  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin  was  founded  in  1810,  and  in  May,  1815, 
Congress  raised  the  College  to  the  rank  of  a 


Georgetown  College  in  Olden  Times. 


University.  Archbishop  Carroll  was  not  only  a 
friend  of  collegiate  education  for  the  wealthier 
classes  and  for  the  ecclesiastical  candidates,  but 
he  was  also  in  favor  of  suitable  education  for  the 
middle  classes  and  the  poor,  and  he  favored  the 
formation  of  a  society  for  this  purpose  in  St. 
Patrick's  parish  by  Rev.  Mr.  Moranville,  whose 
efforts  resulted  in  the  opening  of  the  first  paro 
chial  school. 

The  Presidents  of  Georgetown  College  from  its 
foundation  to  the  present  time  have  been  as  fol 
lows  :  Robert  Plunkett,  S.  J.,  from  October,  1791  ; 
Robert  Molyneux,  S.  J. ;  William  Louis  Dubourg, 
afterwards  Bishop  of  New  Orleans  and  Bishop 
Montauban  in  France,  till  1 799 ;  Leonard  Neale, 
afterwards  Archbishop  of  Baltimore,  1806;  Rob 
ert  Molyneux,  S.  J. ;  William  Mathews,  1808 ; 
Francis  Neale,  S.  J.,  1810;  John  Grassi,  S.  J., 
1812  ;  Benedict  Joseph  Fenwick,  S.  J.,  afterwards 
Bishop  of  Boston,  1817;  Anthony  Kohlmann, 
S.  J.,  1819;  Enoch  Fenwick,  S.  J. ;  Benedict 
Joseph  Fenwick,  S.  J.,  1824;  Stephen  L.  Dubuis- 
son,  S.  J.,  1825;  John  Beschter,  S.  J. ;  Thomas  F. 
Mulledy,  S.  J.,  till  1837;  William  McSherry, 
S.  J.,  till  1839;  James  Ryder,  S.  J.,  1840;  Thomas 
F.  Mulledy,  S.  J.,  from  1845;  James  Ryder,  S.  J., 
from  1848;  Charles  Stone-street,  S.  J.,  from  1851 ; 
Bernard  A.  Maguire,  S.  J.,  1852;  John  Early, 
S.  J.,  1858;  Bernard  A.  Maguire,  S.  J.,  1866; 
John  Early,  S.  J.,  1870-73;  Rev.  P.  F.  Healy, 
S.  J.,  1873-82;  James  A.  Doonan,  S.  J.,  to  1888; 
J.  Havens  Richards,  S.  J.,  1888-89.  During  the 
second  administration  of  Dr.  Ryder,  in  1848,  the 
3 


Robert  Molyneux. 


Rev.  Wm.  L.  Dubourg. 


William  Mathews. 


Rev.  Frauds  Neale. 


Rev.  Benedict  J.  Fenwick. 


Thomas  F   Mulledy. 


James  Ryder. 


Charles  Stonestreet. 


Medical  Department  of  Georgetown  College  was 
established,   and  it  was  during   the  second   ad- 


26 


ARCHDIOCESE   OF  BALTIMORE. 


ministration  of  Father  Maguire,  which  extended 
from  1870  to  1873,  that  the    Law   Department 


Bernard  A.  Maguire. 


John  Early. 


was  founded ;  so  that  Georgetown  College  has 
now  in  operation  all  the  departments  of  the  Uni 
versity.  .On  February  20,  21,  and  22,  1889, 


ceremonies,   which   were    grand,    imposing,   and 

joyous. 

The  Archbishop  of  Baltimore  had  to  provide 

for  the  needs  of  religion  in  the  distracted  Diocese 

of  Louisiana  and  the  Floridas  in  1812,  and  again, 

in  1815,  for  the 
Church  of  Charles 
ton  ;  and  he  con 
tinued  by  his  wis 
dom,  prudence, 
foresight,  and  firm 
ness  to  have  his 
influence  felt  bene 
ficially  throughout 
the  entire  country. 
In  the  midst  of 
these  cares  and  la 
bors  his  strength  be- 


Rev.  P.  F.  Healy. 


James  A.  Doonan. 


Georgetown  University  celebrated  the  centennial 
anniversary  of  its  foundation.  The  President  of 
the  United  States,  Mr.  Cleveland,  and  his  wife, 


W 

Father  Angelo  Secchi. 


Father    Curlev. 


Cardinal  Gibbons,  several  Archbishops  and  many 
Bishops,  a  large  body  of  the  clergy,  and  the  Col 
lege  Alumni  in  great  numbers  attended  the 


First  Building  Erected,  Georgetown 
College. 


gan  to  decline,  and  yet  his  vigilance  for  the  inter 
ests  of  religion  and  his  own  calmness  and  cheerful 
ness  of  disposition  remained  unchanged.    He  was 
invited  by  the  citizens  of  Baltimore  to  lay  the 
corner-stone  of  Washington's  Monument,  which 
was  near  his  new  Cathedral,  but  his  health  would 
not  permit  him  to   accept   the   invitation.     By 
November  his  weakness  became  so  great  and  his 
illness  so  dangerous  that,  on  the   22d  of  that 
month,  he  received  the  Holy  Viaticum  and  Ex 
treme  Unction  in  the  presence  of  all  the  mem 
bers  of  the  Seminary.     His  last  moments  were 
most  edifying :  he  requested  to  be  laid  on  the 
floor  to  die ;  he  told  a  priest,  who  quietly  entered 
his  room,  that  he  knew  that  he  came  for  a  book 
giving  the  ceremonies  for  an  Archbishop's  fu 
neral,  and  exactly  where  he  would  find  the  book  on 
the  shelf;  he  reqiiested  his  attendants  to  provide 
a  carriage  for  his  sister  and  relatives  as  the  end 
was  at  hand,  and  then,  changing  his  position,  he 
calmly  and  resignedly  gave  up  his  great  soul  to 
his    Creator.     His   death   occurred  on  Sunday, 
December  3,  1815.     His  funeral  was  the  most 
solemn  and  impressive  event  Baltimore  had  ever 
witnessed.      All    denominations,    ministers    and 
citizens,  united  with  Catholics  in  paying  honor 
to  the  name,  memory,  services,  labors,  and  vir 
tues  of  the  Patriarch  of  Catholicity  in  America. 
He  embraced  the  cause  of  the  Catholic  Church  at 
a  time  when  she  was  poor,  had  few  priests  or 
churches,  but  small  scattered  congregations,  was 
oppressed  by  law,  when  the  entire  body  of  the 


ARCHDIOCESE   OF   BALTIMORE. 


27 


clergy  succumbed  to  the  blow  that  suppressed 
the  Society  of  Jesus,  of  which  they  were  all  mem 
bers,  when  universal  prejudice  stigmatized  her, 
and  when  she  had  no  organization,  nor  wealth, 
nor  power,  nor  patronage.  He  became  her  leader, 
and  by  his  great  study,  exertions,  perseverance, 
and  courage,  by  his  wisdom,  good  management, 
exalted  virtues,  and  administrative  abilities,  he 
had  founded  the  hierarchy,  organized  dioceses, 
multiplied  churches,  established  missions,  col 
leges,  academies,  and  seminaries ;  had  commenced 
and  placed  works  of  Catholic  charity  in  a  pros 
perous  condition,  introduced  religious  orders  and 
founded  sisterhoods,  and  by  his  foresight  shaped 
the  action  of  the  American  Church  for  ages  "of 
prosperity  and  good.  As  a  citizen  and  patriot  he 
ranked  with  the  Fathers  of  the  Republic.  Such 
were  the  simplicity  and  frugality  of  his  life  that 
he  labored  with  undiminished  vigor  until  he 
reached  his  eightieth  year.  The  contempo 
raneous  tributes  to  his  exalted  worth  and  char 
acter  placed  him  historically  among  the  very 
foremost  men  our  country  has  ever  produced. 
What  Washington  was  to  the  American  Repub- 


Law  Department,  Georgetown  College. 

lie,  Archbishop  Carroll   was   to    the   American 
Church. 

By  the  death  of  Archbishop  Carroll  the  gov 
ernment  of  the  vast  Diocese  of  Baltimore  passed 
into  the  hands  of  the  saintly  and  venerated 


Archbishop  Neale,  who  was  co-adjutor  with  the 
right  of  succession.  He  was  then  nearly  seventy 
years  old  and  enfeebled  by  the  arduous  mis 
sionary  labors  and  sacrifices  of  a  long  lifetime. 
He  entered  iipon  his  arduous  duties  with  charac 
teristic  energy,  and  as  far  as  his  health  permitted 


Medical  Department,  Georgetown  College. 

took  active  part  in  public  ecclesiastical  events. 
He  resided  at  the  Convent  of  Georgetown,  but 
went  to  Baltimore  whenever  duty  called.  In 
1816  he  received  the  Pallium  sent  to  him  by 
Pope  Pius  VII.  One  of  his  first  acts  was  to  ap 
ply  to  Rome  for  authority  to  establish  the  Visi 
tation  Order  in  this  country  and  endow  their 
Convent  at  Georgetown  with  all  the  rights  and 
privileges  of  the  Institute  of  St.  Francis  de 
Sales  and  of  St.  Jane  Frances  de  Chantal,  and 
he  had  the  consolation  of  receiving  a  sanction  to 
his  work  from  Pius  VII.  in  1816.  This  event, 
one  of  the  most  important  in  the  history  of  the 
Church  in  this  country,  has  placed  the  name  of 
Archbishop  Neale  among  those  of  the  great 
benefactors  of  the  country.  He  continued  to 
sustain  this  fine  institution  as  long  as  he  lived. 
He  appointed  as  ecclesiastical  superior  of  the 
Visitation  Nuns  the  Rev.  Mr.  Cloriviere,  an 
eminent  and  able  priest  from  France,  whose  ser 
vices,  both  spiritual  and  temporal,  to  the  Sisters 
of  the  Visitation  were  invaluable.  The  perse- 


28 


ARCHDIOCESE   OF   BALTIMORE. 


verance  of  the  Sisters  in  adhering  to  their  voca 
tion  as  Visitation  Nuns  has  already  challenged 
our  admiration,  but  through  many  years  after 
their  recognition  as  members  of  the  Order  they 
had  to  struggle  with  adversities,  and  with  pe 
cuniary  difficulties.  The  appointment  of  Rev. 
Mr.  Cloriviere  as  their  Superior  was  providential; 
for  years  they  enjoyed  the  happiness  of  his  able 
and  disinterested  counsels.  Their  school  being 
their  only  means  of  support,  its  poor  patronage 
had  led  to  such  great  embarrassments  and  pov 
erty  that  in  1824  the  Sisters  saw  no  recourse  but 
failure  and  dispersion.  This  calamity  was  provi 
dentially  averted  by  the  advent  to  the  school  of 
the  daughters  of  Mr.  John  B.  Lasala,  a  Spanish 
merchant  of  New  York,  who  kindly  advanced  to 
the  Sisters  the  payment  of  his  daughters'  tui 
tion  and  board  for  several  years.  Their  generous 
Superior,  Rev.  Mr.  Cloriviere,  now  had  his  own 
patrimony  in  Brittany  sold,  dedicated  the  pro 
ceeds  to  the  relief  of  the  institution  and  erected 
there  with  the  Academy,  the  Devotional  Chapel  of 
the  Sacred  Heart,  and  assisted  largely  in  establish 
ing  the  Sisters'  Free  School.  From  this  time  the 
Visitation  Nuns  were  flourishing  and  have  multi 
plied  throughout  the  land  their  elegant  academies 
for  the  refined  education  of  young  ladies.  In 
1826  they  had  the  misfortune  of  losing  by  death 
their  second  best  friend,  Rev.  Mr.  Cloriviere. 
Rev.  Mr.  Whelen  next  became  Ecclesiastical  Su 
perior  of  the  Visitation,  and  he  generously  went 
to  Europe  at  the  request  of  the  Sisters  and  visited 
the  institutions  of  France  and  Savoy  for  the  pur- 
pos,e  of  inducing  some  Visitation  Nuns,  thor 
oughly  acquainted  and  imbued  with  the  rules 
and  spirit  of  the  Order,  to  come  to  Georgetown 
for  the  instruction  and  thorough  initiation  of  its 
Sisters.  He  returned  in  August,  1829,  accom 
panied  by  three  Visitation  Nuns,  Sister  Mary 
Agatha  Langlois,  of  Mans ;  Sister  Mary  Magda- 
lena  d'Areges,  of  Fribourg,  and  Sister  Mary  Regis 
Mordant,  of  Valence,  who  remained  three  years 
and  left  only  when  they  saw  the  perfect  spirit 
of  the  institution  prevailing  at  Georgetown.  In 
1846  the  Convent  at  Georgetown  sustained  the 
loss  of  the  saintly  foundress,  Mother  Mary 
Theresa,  who  died  in  the  odor  of  sanctity. 

Equal  perseverance  in  a  holy  cause  was  shown 
by  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  founded  by  Mother 
Seton.  They,  too,  desired  to  obtain  from  France 


a  Sister  to  lead  them  to  the  full  realization  of  the 
spirit  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul.  Abbe  Flaget  in 
1810  secured  for  this  purpose  from  the  Mother 
House  at  Paris  Sister  Mary  Byseray,  who,  how 
ever,  only  reached,  on  her  way  to  Emmittsburg, 
Bordeaux,  where  Napoleon's  government  pre 
vented  her  departure.  In  1812,  when  the  Sister 
hood  numbered  twenty,  an  election  resulted  in 
the  choice  of  Mother  Seton  as  Superior,  a  posi 
tion  she  continued  to  fill  with  extraordinary 
ability  until  her  death.  Her  two  sisters-in-law, 
Miss  Cecilia  and  Miss  Henrietta  Seton,  also  went 
to  Emmittsburg,  Protestants,  but  they  soon  saw 
the  true  faith  in  the  holy  lives  of  their  relative 
and  her  companions.  After  entering  the  Church 
and  becoming  Sisters  of  Charity  both  these 
pure  souls  went  to  their  early  reward  in  1810. 
Mother  Seton's  two  daughters  entered  the  Sister 
hood  ;  Annina  died  in  1812,  Ann  Rebecca  in  1816, 
wearing  the  coarse  but  holy  habit  of  St.  Vincent 
de  Paul.  After  building  up 
her  pious  congregation  of  Sis 
ters  to  number  fifty,  with 
flourishing  institutions  at  Em 
mittsburg,  containing  convent, 
novitiate  and  female  academy, 
and  with  colonies  in  charge  of 
the  orphan  asylums  in  Phila 
delphia  and  New  York,  this 
noble  and  admirable  lady, 
Mother  Seton,  died  at  Em 
mittsburg,  at  the  age  of  forty- 
seven,  on  January  4,  1821,  leaving  behind  her 
benedictions  for  our  land.  Archbishop  Neale, 
during  his  short  administration,  cherished  with 
paternal  care  the  Sisterhood  of  Charity. 

This  venerable  prelate  felt  the  heavy  hand  of 
time  upon  him.  He  humbly  thought  himself 
unequal  to  the  task  and  requested  Rome  to  asso 
ciate  with  him  Bishop  Cheverus,  of  Boston,  in  the 
administration  of  the  Archdiocese.  While  Pius 
VII.  was  willing  to  grant  his  request,  it  was  diffi 
cult  to  find  another  Cheverus  for  Boston.  Bishop 
Cheverus  visited  Baltimore  at  the  request  of  the 
Archbishop,  and  on  learning  his  plans  in  regard 
to  himself  unfolded  to  the  Metropolitan  the  many 
difficulties  in  the  way.  He  advised  the  Arch 
bishop  to  seek  a  Co-adjutor  among  the  Jesuit 
Fathers  of  Maryland,  and  also  named  the  Sulpi- 
tian,  Rev.  Ambrose  Marechal.  After  several 


Rev.  Leonard  Neale. 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE. 


29 


Jesuits  declined  the  appointment,  Rev.  Mr. 
Marechal  was  appointed  Co-adjulor  of  Baltimore, 
under  the  title  of  Bishop  Stauropolis,  with  the 
right  of  succession,  by  brief  of  July  24,  1817, 
but  before  the  signing  of  the  Papal  documents 
Archbishop  Neale  died,  on  June  15,  1817,  at  the 
Georgetown  Convent,  where  he  was  buried  and 
where  his  remains  are  still  venerated  as  the  relics 
of  a  saint. 

The  bulls  of  his  appointment  arrived  in  Balti 
more  on  November  10,  1817,  and  Archbishop 
Marechal  was  consecrated  by  Bishop  Cheverus 
at  Baltimore  on  December  14.  At  the  very  out 
set  of  his  administration  Archbishop  Marechal 
found  his  path  beset  with  cares  and  difficulties. 
Not  accustomed  by  long  and  traditional  usage  to 
obey  ecclesiastical  authority,  the  Catholic  laity 
in  several  instances  thought  their  churches 
should  be  managed  like  Protestant  churches. 
The  management  of  Church  property  led  to  con 
flicts  between  lay  trustees  and  the  pastors  or 
Bishops,  and  revolts,  almost  schisms,  were  the 
results.  The  prudence,  mildness  and  firmness 
with  which  Archbishop  Marechal  met  these  diffi 
culties  were  recognized  at  the  time  and  have  been 
approvingly  recorded  in  the  annals  of  our  Church 
history.  Personal  criticisms  also  fell  to  his  lot, 
for  the  foul  spirit  of  nationalism  soon  then  ap 
peared  in  this  country.  The  Irish  clergy  and 
congregations  had  greatly  increased,  and  these, 
while  seeking  the  honors  of  the  Church  for 
themselves,  accused  the  Archbishop,  a  French 
man,  of  showing  favoritism  for  Frenchmen,  whom 
they  characterized  as  monarchists,  while  he 
neglected  and  set  aside  English-speaking  priests 
who  were  good  republicans.  The  French  clergy 
who  came  to  the  United  States  were  men  of  pure 
and  simple  piety,  of  great  learning  and  fine  ec 
clesiastical  training ;  irreproachable  in  their  lives 
and  strict  in  training  and  correcting  their  flocks 
in  the  practice  of  Christian  lives.  Many  of  their 
critics  were  less  exemplary  and  less  severe  against 
abuses.  The  accusation  against  Archbishop 
Marechal  was  utterly  unfounded,  and  he,  by  his 
impartial  and  dignified  course,  lived  it  down. 
His  fine  Pastoral  of  1819  clearly  and  firmly  lays 
down  the  position  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  re 
gard  to  the  true  positions  of  Bishops,  priests  and 
laity,  and  went  far  to  restore  order  in  the  Dio 
cese. 


In  1 8 1 8  the  Catholics  of  Georgia  and  the  Caro- 
linas  petitioned  Rome  for  the  appointment  of  a 
Bishop  for  the  South.  Rev.  Robert  Brown,  an 
Irish  priest  of  the  Order  of  St.  Augustine,  carried 
the  petition  to  Rome.  Archbishop  Marechal  ap 
proved  the  movement.  The  Holy  See  accordingly 
subdivided  the  Archdiocese  of  Baltimore  in  1820 
by  creating  the  See  of  Charleston  and  appointed 
Dr.  England  its  first  Bishop.  About  the  same 
time  Rome  erected  the  See  of  Richmond,  but  it 
was  without  the  Archbishop's  knowledge.  When 
he  discovered  it  and  saw  that  Right  Rev.  Patrick 
Kelly  had  been  appointed  and  had  arrived  at 
Norfolk,  he  represented  to  Rome  that  the  step 
was  premature.  Rome  recalled  Dr.  Kelly  to 
Ireland  and  confided  the  administration  of  the 
Richmond  Diocese  to  the  Archbishop  of  Balti 
more. 

Archbishop  Marechal  took  a  deep  interest  in 
building  the  Cathedral  of  Baltimore.  He  placed 
in  it  the  splendid  marble  altar  which  the  priests 
of  Marseilles,  his  former  ecclesiastical  students 
in  various  seminaries  of  France,  had  presented 
to  him,  and  on  May  31,  1821,  he  experienced  the 
most  profound  pleasure  in  dedicating  this  noble 
temple  to  divine  service.  In  the  midst  of  his 
many  solicitudes  Archbishop  Marechal  was  con 
soled  by  well-authenticated  miracles  wrought  in 
his  Diocese.  Mrs.  Mattingly,  a  pious  widow  and 
sister  of  Mr.  Carbery,  Mayor  of  Washington, 
was  miraculously  and  suddenly  cured,  after  all 
her  physicians  had  pronounced  her  case  beyond 
hope,  and  to  this  was  added  the  miraculous  cure 
of  a  Visitation  Nun  at  Georgetown.  In  1821 
Archbishop  Marechal  made  his  visit  to  Rome  and 
gave  an  account  of  his  Diocese,  which  was  most 
flourishing.  In  1825  Archbishop  Marechal  ap 
proved  the  only  colored  body  of  Religious  in  the 
United  States,  the  Sisters  Oblates  of  St.  Frances, 
in  which  colored  Sisters  devote  themselves  to  the 
education  of  children  of  their  own  race,  which 
still  is  a  flourishing  community  in  Baltimore. 
By  the  erection  of  the  Sees  of  Boston,  New  York, 
Philadelphia,  Bardstown,  Charleston,  Richmond, 
Cincinnati  and  New  Orleans  the  Archdiocese  of 
Baltimore  was  reduced  to  its  present  proportions, 
embracing  Maryland  and  the  District  of  Colum 
bia.  Feeling  his  health  declining  under  the  in 
roads  of  a  dropsical  disease,  Archbishop  Marechal 
applied  to  Rome  for  a  Co-adjntor,  and  on  January 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF   BALTIMORE. 


8,  1828,  Pope  Leo  XII.  issued  his  brief  appoint 
ing  Rev.  Dr.  James  Whitfield  Co-adjutor  of  Balti 
more,  under  the  title  of  Bishop  of  Appol- 
lonia,  with  the  right  of  succession.  The  .docu 
ments  did  not  arrive  until  after  Dr.  Marechal's 
death,  on  January  29,  and  the  new  Archbishop 
was  consecrated  by  Bishop  Flaget,  of  Bardstown, 
on  July  25.  He  was  an  Englishman  by  birth, 
was  ordained  in  France  and  at  the  time  of  his 
appointment  was  pastor  of  St.  Peter's  Church, 
Baltimore. 

Archbishop  Whitfield  devoted  himself  to  the 
work  of  his  Diocese  with  great  zeal  and  energy, 
and  applied  his  liberal  fortune  to  the  interests  of 
religion  in  building  churches,  providing  priests 
for  them  and  in  erecting  institutions  of  piety, 
education  and  charity.  The  Association  for  the 
Propagation  of  the  Faith  having  been  formed  in 
France  in  1815,  chiefly  thrcmgh  the  suggestions 
and  efforts  of  an  American  prelate,  Dr.  Du 
Bourg,  and  a  pious  lady  at  Lyons,  whom  he  en 
listed  in  the  cause,  and  its  object  being  to  aid  the 
American  Missions,  Archbishop  Whitfield,  with 
prompt  zeal,  laid  the  wants  of  the  country  and 
of  his  Diocese  before  this  noble  organization  and 
gave  a  minute  account  of  the  state  of  religion  in 
America.  This  appeal  and  those  of  his  pre 
decessor  were  successful,  for  there  was  received 
for  the  Diocese  between  1825  and  1834  the  sum 
of  thirty-two  thousand  francs.  A  donation  was 
also  sent  to  Mt.  St.  Mary's  College,  and  Louis 
XVIII.  and  Charles  X.  sent  liberal  donations  to 
the  Archdiocese.  He  was  a  warm  friend  of  the 
orphans,  and  on  September  u,  1828,  he  laid  the 
corner-stone  of  the  Baltimore  Orphan  Asylum. 
In  November  he  commenced  a  thorough  visita 
tion  of  the  Dioceses  of  Baltimore  and  Richmond, 
and,  besides  his  other  episcopal  labors,  he  blessed 
new  churches,  laid  the  corner-stones  of  others 
and  selected  sites  for  others.  The  Archdiocese 
then  contained  fifty-two  priests  and  about  seventy 
thousand  Catholics. 

Archbishop  Whitfield  soon  after  his  appoint 
ment  took  measures  for  assembling  the  Bishops 
of  the  American  Church  in  the  First  Provincial 
Council  of  Baltimore.  Many  obstacles  presented 
themselves,  but  these  Archbishop  Whitfield  over 
came  and  the  sanction  of  the  Holy  See  was  ob 
tained.  The  Council  was  opened  at  the  Baltimore 
Cathedral  on  Sunday,  October  4,  1829,  and  was 


attended  by  the  Archbishop  of  Baltimore ;  Right 
Rev.  Benedict  Joseph  Flaget,  Bishop  of  Bards- 
town  ;  Right  Rev.  John  England,  Bishop  of 
Charleston  ;  Right  Rev.  Edward  Fenwick,  Bishop 
of  Cincinnati ;  Right  Rev.  Joseph  Rosati,  Bishop 
of  St.  Louis  and  Administrator  of  New  Orleans, 
and  Right  Rev.  Benedict  Joseph  Fenwick,  Bishop 
of  Boston.  Four  prelates  were  absent :  Right 
Rev.  John  Dubois,  Bishop  of  New  York,  in 
Europe ;  Right  Rev.  John  B.  David,  Co-adjutor 
of  Bardstown  and  proxy  for  the  Bishop  of  New 
York,  sick ;  Right  Rev.  Michael  Portier,  Bishop 
of  Mobile,  in  France ;  and  Right  Rev.  Henry 
Conwell,  bearing  the  title  of  Bishop  of  Phila 
delphia,  represented  in  the  Council  by  Very  Rev. 
William  Matthews,  Administrator  of  Philadel 
phia.  At  the  opening  solemn  Mass  by  Arch 
bishop  Whitfield,  he  was  invested  with  the  Pal 
lium  by  Bishop  Flaget,  and  Bishop  England 
preached  the  sermon.  The  sessions  of  the  Coun 
cil  were  closed  on  Sunday,  October  18.  The 
Bishops  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Holy  Father, 
dated  the  24th ,  submitting  their  decrees,  which  were 
thirty-eight  in  number,  which  were  approved  by 
the  Propaganda  on  June  28,  1830,  confirmed  by 
the  Pope  on  September  26  and  returned  to  Arch 
bishop  Whitfield  on  October  16.  By  these  de 
crees  Bishops  were  empowered  to  send  to  any 
part  of  their  Dioceses,  or  recall  them,  any 
priest  belonging  to  such  Dioceses  ;  priests  could 
not  leave  their  Dioceses  without  the  consent  of 
their  Bishops ;  Bishops  were  not  to  grant  facul 
ties  to  strange  priests  unless  they  were  recom 
mended  by  the  Bishops  from  whose  Dioceses  they 
came  ;  Bishops  were  not  to  allow  churches  to  be 
erected  or  consecrated  whose  titles  were  in  lay 
trustees  ;  laymen  or  lay  trustees  were  not  to  ex 
ercise  the  right  of  institution  or  patronage  over 
pastors  of  churches ;  Protestant  versions  of  the 
Bible  disapproved  and  the  Douay  Bible  recom 
mended  ;  sponsors  at  baptisms  were  not  to  be 
heretics  or  scandalous  or  persons  ignorant  of  the 
Faith ;  recommended  that  baptism  be  administered 
in  church ;  care  enjoined  on  pastors  in  adminis 
tering  matrimony  ;  Catholic  education  for  Catho 
lic  children,  etc.  It  was  estimated  by  the  Bishops 
that  the  Catholic  population  of  the  United  States 
at  this  time  was  half  a  million.  Two  admirable 
Pastorals,  one  addressed  to  the  clergy  and  the 
other  to  the  laity,  were  issued  by  the  Council. 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF   BALTIMORE. 


On  October  13,  1829,  Archbishop  Whitfield 
announced  the  jubilee  of  Pope  Pius  VIII.  He 
prosecuted  the  work  on  the  Cathedral,  partly  by 
contributions  systematically  collected  and  largely 
by  his  own  means.  One  of  the  towers  was 
finished  by  him  and  the  other  was  far  advanced. 
He  also  built  with  his  own  private  means  St. 
James'  Church,  Baltimore,  laying  the  corner 
stone  on  May  i,  1833.  He  expended  a  consid 
erable  sum  on  the  episcopal  residence. 

In  1833  Archbishop  Whitfield  summoned  the 
Second  Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore  to  as 
semble  on  October  aoth,  and  the  prelates  who 
attended  were  Archbishop  Whitfield,  who  pre 
sided;  Right  Rev.  John  B.  David,  Co-adjutor 
of  Bardstown  ;  Right  Rev.  John  England,  Bishop 
of  Charleston;  Right  Rev.  Joseph  Rosati, 
Bishop  of  St.  Louis ;  Right  Rev.  Benedict  Joseph 
Fenwick,  Bishop  of  Boston ;  Right  Rev.  John 
Dubois,  Bishop  of  New  York ;  Right  Rev.  Mi 
chael  Portier,  Bishop  of  Mobile ;  Right  Rev. 
Francis  Patrick  Kenrick,  Co-adjutor  of  Phila 
delphia  ;  Right  Rev.  Frederick  Rese,  Bishop  of 
Detroit,  and  Right  Rev.  John  B.  Purcell,  Bishop 
of  Cincinnati.  The  principal  matters  embodied 
in  the  decrees  of  the  Council  were :  The  regula 
tion  of  the  diocesan  boundaries ;  the  manner  of 
selecting  Bishops  for  vacant  Sees  ;  confiding  the 
spiritual  care  of  the  Indians  beyond  the  bounda 
ries  of  the  Dioceses  to  the  Jesuits ;  provision  for 
the  spiritual  care  of  the  negroes  emigrating  to 
Liberia;  establishment  of  theological  seminaries; 
the  regulation  of  books  to  be  used  in  the  Catho 
lic  schools.  The  decrees  of  the  Council  were  ap 
proved  at  Rome. 

The  three  religious  congregations  of  ladies  in 
the  Diocese — the  Sisters  of  Charity,  the  Carmel 
ites  and  the  Visitation  Nuns — received  a  father's 
care  from  Archbishop  Whitfield,  and  he  brought 
the  Carmelites  from  Port  Tobacco  and  settled 
them  in  Baltimore,  where,  under  a  relaxation  of 
their  rule,  obtained  by  him  from  Rome,  they 
opened  a  female  school,  the  income  from  which 
relieved  their  poverty,  and  continued  with  good 
results  until  1852.  After  an  energetic,  useful 
and  successful  administration,  Archbishop  Whit 
field  died  on  October  19,  1834,  ripe  in  virtue  and 
in  age,  and  after  a  life  crowned  with  noble  deeds. 
He  had  applied  for  and  obtained  the  appointment 
of  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Eccleston,  President  of  St. 


Mary's  College,  as  his  Co-adjutor,  and  conse 
crated  him  under  the  title  of  Bishop  of  Thermia 
in  the  Baltimore  Cathedral  on  September  14, 
1834. 

In  1835  Archbishop  Eccleston  received  the 
Pallium,  and  entered  with  ability  and  zeal  upon 
the  administration  of  the  Dioceses  of  Baltimore 
and  Richmond.  He  was  a  convert  to  the  Catho 
lic  faith,  a  man  of  great  dignity,  affability,  elo 
quence  and  administrative  ability.  His  adminis 
tration  was  eventful  and  fruitful.  To  provide 
religious  education  for  Catholics  was  one  of 
Archbishop  Eccleston's  first  aims.  He  encour 
aged  the  teaching  Orders — male  and  female — 
and  introduced  new  ones.  The  Visitation  Nuns 
founded  new  schools  and  convents  in  Baltimore, 
Frederick  and  Washington.  The  Brothers  of 
St.  Patrick  were  brought  to  Baltimore  in  1846, 
a  manual  labor  school  was  founded  by  Rev. 
James  Dolan  and  placed  in  care  of  these  good 
Brothers.  Observing  the  great  "increase  in  the 
German  Catholic  population,  he  entered  into  ne 
gotiation  with  the  Redemptorists  of  Austria, 
and  received  the  first  Redemptorists  in  the 
United  States  in  1841.  They  built  the  beautiful 
Church  of  St.  Alphonsus  at  Baltimore  and  estab 
lished  their  novitiate  of  Annapolis  in  the  vener 
able  old  mansion  once  the  residence  of  Charles 
Carroll  of  Carrollton,  where  they  have  since 
erected  a  large  and  handsome  church,  novitiate 
and  convent.  He  also  introduced  the  Lazarists 
into  his  Diocese.  In  Baltimore  also  the  Churches 
of  St.  Vincent,  St.  Joseph's,  St.  Peter,  St.  Mi 
chael,  the  new  Lazarist  church,  and  the  Car 
melite  and  Visitation  chapels  were  erected.  Ten 
churches  were  promoted  by  his  care,  in  other  parts 
of  the  Diocese,  such  as  Cumberland,  Laurel,  Pikes- 
ville,  Elkridge,  Ellicott's  Mills,  Govanstown, 
Havre  de  Grace  and  elsewhere,  and  he  doubled 
the  number  of  priests  therein  by  the  introduction 
of  the  Redemptorists  and  Lazarists.  Mt.  Hope 
Hospital  for  the  insane  arose  under  his  approv 
ing-  care,  as  also  a  large  association  known  as 
the  Young  Catholic's  Friend  Society.  Another 
important  work  was  the  establishment  of  St. 
Charles'  College,  near  Ellicott's  Mills,  for  the 
preparatory  education  of  young  Catholics  for  the 
priesthood,  and  which  owed  its  early  endow 
ment  to  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton.  Arch 
bishop  Eccleston  never  rested  until  he  had 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF   BALTIMORE. 


placed  it  on  a  permanent  and  well-provided  foun 
dation. 

The  most  remarkable  feature  of  his  adminis 
tration  was  the  convening  under  his  presidency 
of  five  provincial  Councils  of  Baltimore,  which 
were  in  fact  national  Councils,  and  these  Councils 
strikingly  illustrate  the  growth  of  the  Church  in 
the  United  States.  The  Third  Provincial  Coun 
cil  commenced  its  sessions  on  April  16,  1837, 
was  attended  by  eight  Bishops,  and  resulted  in 
the  erection  of  the  Sees  of  Nashville,  Natchez 
and  Dubuque,  and  the  nomination  of  Bishops 
for  them.  The  Fourth  Provincial  Council  as 
sembled  on  May  17,  1840,  and  was  attended  by 
thirteen  Bishops,  including  the  invited  Bishop 
De  Faubin  Janson,  of  Nancy,  France,  an  exile 
from  his  Diocese,  a  prelate  who  had  rendered 
great  services  to  religion  in  America.  This 
Council  addressed  a  noble  letter  of  sympathy  to 
the  Archbishop  of  Posen  and  to  the  Bishop  of 
Cologne,  confessors  of  the  faith.  Its  delibera 
tions  related  chiefly  to  the  encouragement  of 
temperance  societies,  the  severance  from  Balti 
more  of  the  Diocese  of  Richmond,  to  which  See 
Bishop  Whelan  was  nominated,  and  to  the  best 
methods  of  holding,  preserving  and  transmitting 
ecclesiastical  properties.  The  Fifth  Provincial 
Council,  held  May  14,  1843,  was  attended  by 
sixteen  Bishops,  and  its  decrees  related  to  the 
imposition  of  the  penalty  of  excommunication 
ipso  facto  against  Catholics  who  should  obtain  a 
civil  divorce  and  contract  a  second  marriage,  and 
to  the  subdivision  of  old  Sees  and  the  erection 
of  new  ones.  The  appointments  of  Bishops  by 
the  Holy  See,  in  compliance  with  the  recom 
mendations  of  this  Council,  will  be  related  under 
the  histories  of  the  respective  Dioceses.  The 
Sixth  Provincial  or  National  Council  of  Baltimore 
met  on  May  10,  1846,  and  was  attended  by 
twenty-three  Bishops — a  striking  proof  of  the 
extraordinary  growth  of  the  Catholic  Church. 
By  their  first  decree  the  Fathers  proclaimed  the 
"'Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  conceived  without  sin," 
as  the  patroness  of  the  United  States.  More 
new  Sees  were  provided  for,  and  nominations  of 
Bishops  for  them  were  made.  At  the  close  of 
the  Council,  after  Archbishop  Eccleston  had  re 
tired,  the  Fathers  of  the  Council  unanimously 
resolved  to  present  to  him,  as  a  token  of  their 
veneration  and  attachment,  the  cross,  vases  and 


ornaments  belonging  to  an  archiepiscopal  "  ca- 
pelle."  Bishop  Kenrick  was  appointed  to  make 
the  presentation,  which  he  did  in  a  letter  filled 
with  the  sentiments  of  admiration  and  gratitude 
of  his  colleagues.  In  approval  of  the  decrees  of 
the  Council,  the  Holy  Father  granted  the  request 
of  the  prelates  by  permitting  the  words  "  im 
maculate  "  and  "  immaculate  conception  "  to  be 
added  to  the  preface  of  the  Mass  on  the  Feast  of 
the  Immaculate  Conception,  and  the  invocation, 
"  Queen,  conceived  without  sin,  pray  for  us,"  to 
the  Litany  of  the  Blessed  Virgin.  This  was 
before  the  definition  of  the  dogma  of  the  Im 
maculate  Conception. 

Archbishop  Eccleston  was  the  first  to  intro 
duce  the  Brothers  of  the  Christian  schools  into 
the  United  States.  He  had  the  happiness  of  re 
ceiving  the  Brothers  in  Baltimore  in  November, 
1846,  and  their  first  establishment  in  this  country, 
a  novitiate,  was  opened  under  the  patronage  of 
the  Archbishop  at  Calvert  Hall.  It  is  impossible 
to  estimate  the  good  resulting  from  such  move 
ments,  or  to  measure  the  gratitude  due  to  Arch 
bishop  Eccleston  for  starting  an  organization 
which  enabled  Bishops  and  pastors  to  open  in 
all  parts  of  the  land  parochial  schools,  now 
counted  by  thousands. 

The  Seventh  Council  of  Baltimore,  convened 
on  May  6,  1849,  was  attended  by  twenty -five 
Bishops,  and  its  proceedings  included  a  declara 
tion  of  the  belief  of  the  American  Church  in 
the  Immaculate  Conception  of  the  Blessed  Vir 
gin,  and  its  readiness  to  receive  intelligently  the 
definition  of  the  dogma ;  manifestation  of  sym 
pathy  for  the  Holy  Father,  Pius  IX.,  in  ordering 
Peter  Pence  collections,  and  to  the  erection  of 
new  Sees  and  Episcopal  appointments.  The 
amount  of  Peter  Pence  transmitted  from  this 
country  by  Archbishop  Eccleston  to  the  exiled 
Pontiff  was  twenty-six  thousand  dollars. 

Religion  made  great  progress  in  Maryland 
during  this  administration  in  the  multiplication 
of  churches  and  educational  and  religious  insti 
tutions  ;  the  number  of  priests  was  nearly 
doubled,  and  fifteen  new  churches  erected ;  the 
second  tower  of  the  Cathedral  was  completed ; 
the  sanctuary  and  altar  were  raised  higher ;  the 
base  for  the  portico  was  built ;  the  exterior  reno 
vated  ;  the  touching  of  the  interior  commenced, 
and  the  grounds  greatly  improved.  This  emi- 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF   BALTIMORE. 


33 


nent  and  successful  prelate  died  at  the  Convent 
of  Georgetown  on  April  22,  1851 ;  his  death  was 
like  his  life — noble  and  Christian-like ;  the  fune 
ral  cortege  from  Georgetown  to  the  Washington 
depot  was  most  solemn,  the  President  and  his 
Cabinet  joining  in  it,  and  his  funeral  at  Balti 
more  was  a  grand  and  spontaneous  tribute  to 
his  virtues  and  services  to  religion. 

While  the  Sixth  Council  was  in  session  in 
1846,  the  Government  at  Washington  expressed 
a  desire  to  appoint  two  Catholic  chaplains  for 
the  armies  engaged  in  the  war  against  Mexico. 
Archbishop  Hughes  arranged  the  affair  between 
the  administration  and  the  provincial  of  the  So 
ciety  of  Jesus,  and  Fathers  Anthony  Rey  and 
John  McElroy  were  appointed,  and  lost  no  time 
in  repairing  from  Georgetown  College  to  the  seat 
of  war.  Father  Rey  soon  sacrificed  his  life  while 
discharging  the  merciful  offices  of  his  noble  un 
dertaking,  and  Father  McElroy  continued  his 
exalted  labors  to  the  close.  The  College  of 
Georgetown  and  the  Society  of  Jesus  made  great 
progress  from  the  small  beginning,  under  Arch 
bishop  Carroll,  as  recorded  in  these  pages.  In 
1850  the  Jesuits  had  colleges  also  in  Washing 
ton  and  Worcester,  and  afterwards  in  New  York, 
Fordham,  Baltimore,  St.  Louis,  Cincinnati,  Bos 
ton,  Chicago,  Milwaukee,  New  Orleans,  Philadel 
phia,  San  Francisco,  Santa  Clara,  Buffalo,  Cleve 
land,  Denver,  Detroit,  Galveston,  Leavenworth, 
Mobile,  Spokane  Falls,  in  Washington  Terri 
tory  ;  Jersey  City,  Omaha,  and  the  magnificent 
College  of  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus,  at  Wood 
stock,  Maryland,  for  the  thorough  education  and 
preparation  of  scholastics  for  the  priesthood. 
Numerous  churches  and  missions  are  attached 
to  these  colleges.  The  Maryland  and  New 
York  Jesuits  are  now  united  in  the  New  York 
and  Maryland  Province.  There  is  a  Western 
Province  of  the  Society  with  headquarters  at 
St.  Louis,  and  a  Southern  Province  with  head 
quarters  at  New  Orleans. 

An  important  era  is  now  reached  in  the  his 
tory  of  the  American  Church — more  significant 
even  than  that  attained  in  1808-10,  when  the 
Church  emerged  from  a  single  Diocese  into  an 
Ecclesiastical  Province,  with  an  Archbishop  and 
several  suffragan  Bishops — now  we  are  to  wel 
come  several  Ecclesiastical  Provinces,  each  with 
its  suffragans.  By  Papal  Brief  in  July,  1846, 


was  erected  the  Archiepiscopal  See  of  Oregon  City, 
with  the  Sees  of  Nesquely,  Vancouver's  Island, 
Princess  Charlotte,  Walla  Walla,  Fort  Hell,  Col- 
ville  and  New  Caledonia  as  suffragans.  By  Papal 
Brief  of  July  20,  1847,  tne  See  of  St.  Louis  was 
erected  into  an  Archiepiscopal  See,  with'the  Suf 
fragan  Sees  of  Dubuque,  Nashville,  St.  Paul  and 
Chicago.  By  Papal  Briefs  of  July  19,  1850,  the 
See  of  New  York  was  erected  into  an  Archie 
piscopal  See  with  the  Suffragan  Sees  of  Boston, 
Hartford,  Albany  and  Buffalo  as  suffragans. 
New  Orleans  became  an  Archiepiscopal  See 
with  the  Sees  of  Mobile,  Natchez,  Little  Rock 
and  Galveston  as  suffragan,  and  the  See  of  Cin 
cinnati  became  Aichiepiscopal  with  the  Suffragan 


Most  Rev.  Francis  Patrick  Kenrick,  D.  D.,  Archbishop  of  Baltimore. 

Sees  of  Louisville,  Detroit,  Vincennes  and  Cleve 
land.  In  the  Oregon  Province  the  See  of  Nes- 
qnely  was  within  the  United  States,  and  Van 
couver's  Island  Diocese  was  partly  in  the  United 
States  and  partly  in  British  America.  The  his 
tories  of  these  Ecclesiastical  Provinces  and  D'-)- 


34 


ARCHDIOCESE   OF   BALTIMORE. 


ceses  will  be  given  in  their  respective  places. 
The  Fathers  of  the  Seventh  Council  proposed 
candidates  for  all  vacant  Sees,  and  addressed 
Pastorals  to  the  clergy  and  laity  indignantly 
and  eloquently  denouncing  the  outrages  inflicted 
upon  the"  Holy  See  in  the  person  of  Pius  IX. 
by  the  revolutions  in  Europe. 

Letters  Apostolic  from  Rome,  dated  August 
3,  1851,  transferred  Right  Rev.  Francis  Patrick 
Kenrick,  a  prelate  noted  for  his  learning,  sanc 
tity  and  firmness,  from  Philadelphia  to  the 
Archiepiscopal  See  of  Baltimore ;  and  by  brief 
of  August  Qth,  the  Holy  See  appointed  Dr.  Ken- 
rick  Apostolic  Delegate,  with  a  presidency  over 
the  National  or  Plenary  Councils  of  the  Ameri 
can  Church  ;  and  by  a  decree  of  July  25,  1858, 
the  prerogative  of  place  was  granted  to  the  Arch 
bishops  of  Baltimore,  so  that  in  Councils  and 
other  Ecclesiastical  assemblies  of  every  kind  the 
precedence  and  seat  of  honor  was  to  be  given  to 
them  above  all  other  Archbishops  and  Bishops 
without  regard  to  the  order  of  promotion  or  con 
secration.  The  first  great  act  of  Dr.  Kenrick's 
administration  was  to  call  together  the  Prelates 
of  the  United  States  in  National  or  Plenary 
Council  on  May  9,  1852  ;  and  this  august  as 
sembly,  over  which  he  was  the  first  to  preside, 
was  attended  by  six  Archbishops  and  twenty-six 
Bishops  and  their  respective  theologians.  The 
recommendations  for  the  erection  of  new  Sees 
were  the  most  important  business  transaction, 
and  these  were  ratified  at  Rome,  with  the  excep 
tion  of  making  Boston  a  Metropolitan  See,  erect 
ing  the  See  of  Wilmington,  and  making  Florida 
a  Vicariate  Apostolic.  A  Pastoral  of  unusual 
power  was  issued,  which  laid  down  rules  for  the 
tenure  of  Ecclesiastical  property,  condemning 
Free  Masonry  and  other  secret  societies,  encour 
aging  religious  vocations,  and  condemning  the 
system  of  public  education  which  taxes  all  for 
schools  in  which  God  and  his  religion  are  ignored, 
and  in  which  children  of  every  denomination  are 
to  be  educated  together.  The  Provincial  Coun 
cils  of  Baltimore,  in  which  assembled  the  Arch 
bishop  of  Baltimore  and  the  Suffragan  Bishops 
of  the  Province,  were  thenceforth  held  every 
three  years,  and  their  deliberations  had  a  marked 
effect  in  promoting  institutions  of  religion,  learn 
ing  and  charity,  and  in  multiplying  churches, 
priests  and  religious.  In  1862 — for  the  National 


Councils  were  to  be  held  every  ten  years — the 
civil  war  prevented  the  assembly  of  the  Second 
National  Council  in  due  season. 

Though  he  found  a  Diocese  well  equipped  and 
in  a  flourishing  condition  Archbishop  Kenrick 
improved  and  introduced  discipline,  encouraged 
Religious  Orders  and  introduced  new  ones,  and 
greatly  stimulated  and  elevated  the  standard  of 
Ecclesiastical  affairs.  Under  his  administration 
were  founded  the  Infant  Asylum,  the  Aged 
Women's  Home,  St.  Agnes'  Asylum  for  Desti 
tute  Sick,  the  new  Mount  Hope  for  the  Insane, 
the  Convent  of  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  the  Con 
vent  and  Chapel  of  St.  Lawrence  at  Locust  Point, 
and  many  others.  The  work  of  building  the 
portico  of  the  Cathedral  was  commenced,  and  the 
Jesuits,  with  his  approval  and  encouragement, 
erected  their  fine  Church  of  St.  Ignatius  and 
Loyola  College  ;  and  St.  Charles'  College  for  the 
education  of  candidates  for  the  priesthood  was 
sustained.  The  dogma  of  the  Immaculate  Con 
ception  was  defined  and  proclaimed  by  Pope  Pius 
IX.,  in  1854,  and  Archbishop  Kenrick  was  one  of 
the  American  Prelates  who  repaired  to  Rome  on 
that  occasion  at  the  invitation  of  the  Pope.  The 
ecclesiastical  writings  of  Archbishop  Kenrick 
form  a  prominent  feature  in  American  Catholic 
literature,  such  as  his  Dogmatic  and  Moral 
Theology,  Vindicatiort  of  the  Catholic  Church, 
Premacy  of  the  Apostolic  See,  an  edition  of  the 
Sacred  Scriptures,  and  other  works.  He  labored 
without  ceasing,  even  when  in  bad  health,  yet  his 
death  was  sudden ;  he  died  during  the  night  of 
July  6,  1863,  and  was  found  dead  in  his  bed  the 
following  morning. 

On  July  31,  1864, tne  Archdiocese  of  Baltimore 
passed  under  the  able  and  zealous  administration 
of  Most  Rev.  Martin  John  Spalding,  who  was 
transferred  thither  from  the  See  of  Louisville, 
Kentucky.  In  that,  his  first  year,  one  hundred 
and  twelve  places  in  the  Diocese  received  his  vis 
itation,  eight  thousand  persons,  of  whom  eight 
hundred  and  fifty  were  converts,  received  con 
firmation,  and  the  Jubilee  was  preached  by  him 
wherever  he  visited.  The  Convent  of  the  Good 
Shepherd  was  founded,  the  Diocese  through  his 
efforts  secured  an  increase  of  priests  from  the 
Colleges  of  All  Hallows  and  Louvain,  the  Diocese 
of  Charleston,  during  Bishop  Lynch's  detention 
in  Europe  by  the  blockage  of  Southern  ports,  was 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF   BALTIMORE. 


35 


confided  to  the  care  of  the  Archbishop  of  Balti 
more,  the  Baltimore  Catholic  Prelectory  was 
founded,  a  Catholic  Publication  Society  was  ear 
nestly  contemplated,  and  Industrial  Schools  for 
boys  and  girls  were  multiplied.  The  establish 
ment  of  the  Passionists,  the  Sisters  of  the  Good 


Martin  John  Spalding,  Archbishop  of  Baltimore. 

Shepherd,  the  Redemptorists  at  Ilchester,  the 
Jesuits  at  Woodstock,  the  Little  Sisters  of  the 
Poor,  and  the  Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart  in  St. 
Mary's  County,  received  cordial  encouragement 
and  support.  The  Diocese  also  contributed  lib 
erally  towards  the  endowment  of  the  American 
College  at  Rome.  The  Archdiocese  of  Baltimore 
under  Archbishop  Spalding's  zealous  leadership 
and  the  labors  of  Father  Michael  O'Connor,  of 
the  Society  of  Jesus,  formerly  Bishop  of  Pitts 
burgh,  did  much  for  the  religious  welfare  of  the 
colored  people,  not  only  of  the  Diocese,  but  also 
of  the  South.  In  England,  Rev.  Dr.  Herbert 
Vaughan,  now  Bishop  of  Salford,  founded  the 
Missionary  Society  of  St.  Joseph,  for  the  religious 
care  of  the  colored  race,  and  the  first  mission  of 
the  Society  in  1871  was  in  Baltimore  ;  sixty  acres 
of  land  were  donated  to  the  Society  for  a  residence 
and  the  Society  was  incorporated  under  the  laws 
of  Maryland  by  the  title  of  St.  Joseph's  Apostolic 


Society  of  the  Sacred  Heart  for  Foreign  Missions. 
Four  priests  of  St.  Joseph's  Society  came  at  first, 
and  in  1884  eleven  more  ;  St.  Augustine's  Church, 
in  Washington,  for  colored  people,  was  founded ; 
in  1872  a  mission  was  founded  at  Louisville;  in 
1875  a  mission  was  founded  in  Charleston,  and 
other  missions  have  followed. 

Archbishop  Spalding,  by  authority  of  the  Holy 
See,  assembled  the  Second  Plenary  Council  of 
Baltimore,  in  that  city,  on  Sunday,  October  7, 
1866 ;  it  was  attended  by  seven  Archbishops, 
thirty-eight  Bishops,  three  Mitred  Abbots,  and 
over  one  hundred  and  twenty  theologians,  and  the 
Archbishop  of  Baltimore  was  appointed  by  the 
Holy  See  Apostolic  Delegate  to  preside  over  the 
Council.  The  Catholic  citizens  of  Baltimore  re 
ceived  the  prelates  and  clergymen  in  their  houses 
and  provided  most  hospitably  for  them.  The 
decrees  of  the  Council  condemn  the  custom  of 
charging  for  admission  to  the  religious  services 
in  the  churches,  require  a  place  to  be  provided 
for  the  poor  in  the  churches,  the  preaching  of 
five  minutes'  sermons  at  the  low  Masses  on  Sun 
days,  forbid  the  clergy  to  come  down  from  the 
altar  and  take  up  collections  during  divine  ser 
vice,  and  forbid  the  offering  of  Masses  by  circu 
lars  or  announcements  in  return  for  contributions 
to  religious  or  charitable  purposes.  The  Council 
also  expressed  an  earnest  desire  for  the  establish 
ment  of  an  American  Catholic  University.  The 
decrees  of  the  Council  were  approved  at  Rome. 

In  1867  a  number  of  American  Bishops,  in 
cluding  the  Archbishop  of  Baltimore,  repaired 
to  Rome  at  the  invitation  of  Pius  IX.,  to  cele 
brate  with  His  Holiness  and  Bishops  from  all 
parts  of  the  world  the  anniversary  of  the  martyr 
dom  of  St.  Peter.  Archbishop  Spalding  and 
other  American  prelates  attended.  In  1867  the 
American  College  at  Rome  was  founded,  and  in 
the  city  of  Baltimore  $30,000  were  raised  and 
forwarded  for  its  endowment;  and  in  1869  in  one 
visitation  of  the  diocese  over  a  hundred  places 
were  visited,  and  six  thousand  four  hundred  and 
five  persons,  of  whom  eight  hundred  and  forty- 
seven  were  converts,  received  confirmation. 

In  1869  Pope  Pius  assembled  the  Bishops  of 
the  world  in  the  (Ecumenical  Council  of  the 
Vatican  and  nearly  all  the  American  Bishops 
attended ;  a  few  only  were  excused  for  urgent 
The  sessions  of  the  Council  continued 


causes. 


ARCHDIOCESE   OF   BALTIMORE. 


until  July  n,  1870,  when  the  dogma  of  Papal 
Infallibility  was  finally  voted  on  and  affirmed  by 
533  Placets  against  2  Non  Placets,  most  of  the 
opponents  of  the  dogma  absenting  themselves, 
The  American  prelates,  amongst  whom  Arch- 
bishop  Spalding  was  very  prominent,  advocated 
the  definition.  All  have  since  accepted  it. 

In  the  Archdiocese  of  Baltimore  the  Church 
and  all  religious  interests  made  great  progress 
under  the  administrations  of  Archbishops  EC- 
cleston,  Kenrick  and  Spalding.  Under  the  last 
a  permanent  Board  of  Parochial  School  Trus- 
tees  was  organized.  Archbishop  Spalding  died 
on  February  7,  1872,  at  which  time  the  Diocese 
contained  one  hundred  and  sixty  churches, 
chapels  and  stations,  and  nearly  two  hundred 
priests. 

Pope  Pius  IX.,  by  Papal  Brief  of  July  30, 
1872,  transferred  to  the  Archdiocese  of  Balti- 
more  Most  Rev.  James  Roosevelt  Bayley,  Bishop 


Most   Rev.    James    Roosevelt  Bayley,    D.    D., 
Archbishop  of  Baltimore. 

of  Newark,  who  was  solemnly  installed  at  the 
Cathedral,  on  October  13,  and  received  the  Pal 
lium  from  the  hands  of  Archbishop  Wood,  of 
Philadelphia.  Archbishop  Bayley  had  labored 
well  and  successfully  in  the  Diocese  of  Newark, 
but  his  administration  at  Baltimore  was  short,  but 
not  without  good  results.  On  May  31,  1876,  he 
laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  new  college  building 
of  St.  Mary's  Seminary  ;  he  succeeding  in  getting 


the  Cathedral  out  of  debt  and  consecrated  it  on 
May  25,  1876  ;  he  convened  the  diocesan  synod, 
at  which  wise  regulations  were  made,  and  it  was 
during  his  administration  that  Philadelphia 
ceased  to  be  a  suffragan  of  Baltimore,  and  was 
erected  into  a  Metropolitan  See.  He  made  two 
visitations  of  the  Diocese  and  half  completed 
the  third.  He  was  appointed  by  the  Pope  to 
place  the  red  baretta  on  the  head  of  Cardinal 
McCloskey,  of  New  York.  His  death  occurred  at 
Newark,  where  he  had  to  rest  on  his  return  from 
Europe,  on  October  3,  1877.  He  was  a  nephew  of 
Mother  Seton,  foundress  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity, 
and  his  body  was  interred  at  Emmittsburg,  near 
his  aunt's,  at  his  own  request.  With  this  excep- 
tion,  and  that  of  Archbishop  Neale,  who  rests  at 
the  Visitation  Convent  at  Georgetown,  all  the 
Archbishops  of  Baltimore  repose  beneath  the  altar 
of  the  Baltimore  Cathedral.  In  consequence  of 
the  failing  health  of  Archbishop  Bayley,  Right 
Rev.  James  Gibbons  was  appointed  his  Co-ad- 
jutor  with  the  right  of  succession,  on  May  29, 
1877,  under  the  title  of  Bishop  of  Janopolis,  and 
from  May  29  until  the  death  of  the  Archbishop 
he  assumed  the  actual  charge  of  the  Arch 
diocese. 

On  the  death  of  Archbishop  Bayley  on 
October  3,  1877,  the  Archdiocese  of  Baltimore 
passed  into  the  hands  of  his  successor,  Arch 
bishop  Gibbons,  who  continued  the  work  of  the 
Diocese  he  had  commenced  in  May,  and  who 
received  the  Pallium  on  February  10,  1878. 
During  his  administration  the  Xaverian 
Brothers  have  established  their  Novitiate  at 
Carrollton,  with  thirty  novices  ;  St.  Joseph's 
Seminary  for  the  colored  missions,  and  many 
other  religious  houses,  male  and  female,  have 
opened  ;  and  schools  have  ripened  into  Col 
leges. 

The  holding  of  the  Third  Plenary  Council 
of  Baltimore  was  the  principal  event  of  this 
period,  in  anticipation  of  which  Archbishop 
Gibbons  was  one  of  a  large  number  of  Ameri- 
can  prelates,  who,  in  1883,  visited  Rome  to  confer 
with  the  Holy  Father,  Leo  XIII.,  in  regard  to 
holding  the  Council  and  the  business  that  was  to 
be  presented  before  it,  and  the  Pope  then  ap- 
pointed  the  Archbishop  of  Baltimore  Apostolic 
Delegate  to  preside  over  the  Council.  Great 
labor  was  expended  at  Baltimore  in  preparing 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE. 


37 


the  work  of  the  Council,  which  assembled  on 
Sunday,  November  9,  1884,  and  continued  its 
sessions,  to  December  7,  and  was  attended  by 
fourteen  Archbishops,  sixty  Bishops,  five  visiting 
Bishops  from  Canada  and  Japan,  seven  mitred 
abbots,  one  prefect  apostolic,  eleven  monsignors, 
eighteen  vicar-generals,  twenty-three  superiors 
of  religious  orders,  twelve  rectors  of  seminaries, 
and  ninety  theologians,  besides  a  concourse  of 
priests  who  took  part  in  the  ceremonies.  The 
decrees  of  the  Council,  which  have  been  ap 
proved  at  Rome,  relate  to  the  partial  and 


Baltimore  to  the  eminent  dignity  of  Cardinal 
priest.  Since  his  elevation  his  life  has  been  even 
more  active  and  public  than  before.  During  his 
administration  the  priests  of  the  Diocese  have 
been  increased  from  two  hundred  and  thirty  to 
three  hundred  and  ten,  the  churches  from  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  to  one  hundred  and 
fifty-five.  The  Catholic  University  was  organ 
ized,  with  a  Board  of  Trustees,  of  which  the 
Cardinal  Archbishop  of  Baltimore  was  one  ;  it 
has  been  located  and  established  within  the 
Diocese  of  Baltimore  at  Washington ;  was  in- 


Divinity  Building,   Catholic  University,  Washington,  D.  C. 


gradual  introduction  of  canon  law  into  the 
American  Church ;  in  each  Diocese  a  certain 
number  of  irremovable  pastors  were  to  be  desig 
nated,  rural  deans  appointed,  ecclesiastical  courts 
organized  whose  judges  also  became  diocesan 
consultors,  the  participation  of  consultors  and 
irremovables  in  the  nominating  of  candidates  for 
the  Episcopate,  the  lengthening  of  the  course  of 
study  for  the  priesthood,  and  for  the  establish 
ment  of  an  American  Catholic  University.  The 
Holy  Father,  Pope  Leo  XIII.,  in  Consistory 
held  in  June,  1886,  raised  the  Archbishop  of 


corporated  by  Act  of  Congress  ;  the  corner-stone 
was  laid  by  Cardinal  Gibbons  in  the  presence  of 
the  President  and  other  officials,  numerous 
bishops  and  priests  and  a  large  concourse  of  the 
laity,  and  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Keane,  of  Rich 
mond,  who  resigned  his  See,  was  elected  Rector 
of  the  University.  In  accordance  with  the  de 
crees  of  the  Third  Plenary  Council,  Consultors, 
Examiners  of  the  Clergy,  a  Court  for  Criminal 
and  Disciplinary  Causes,  a  Court  for  Matrimonial 
Causes,  Examiners  of  Teachers  and  Examiners 
of  Schools  have  been  appointed  for  the  Diocese. 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE. 


DIOCESE  OF 

IT  has  already  been  related  how  the  Holy  See 
on  the  petition  of  the  Catholics  of  Georgia  and 
the  Carolinas,  borne  to  Rome  in  1818  by  the 
Rev.  Robert  Brown,  an  Irish  Augustinian,  who 
had  been  for  eight  years  a  missionary  in  Augusta, 
and  with  the  concurrence  of  the  Archbishop  of 
Baltimore,  created  the  Sea  of  Charleston  and  ap 
pointed  Rev.  John  England  its  first  Bishop  by 
briefs  of  July  n,  1820.  He  was  consecrated  by 
Bishop  Murphy,  of  Cork,  at  the  parish  Church 
of  St.  Finbar,  and,  accompanied  by  his  youngest 
sister,  made  a  tempestuous  voyage  and  arrived 


Right  Rev.  John  England,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  Charleston. 

at  Charleston  December  30,  1820.  So  far  as 
known  Mass  was  first  celebrated  in  Charleston 
by  an  Italian  priest  in  1786,  but  we  have  an  ac 
count  of  two  Irish  Catholics  having  been  tarred 
and  feathered  in  Charleston  in  1775,  accused  of 
conspiring  with  negroes  against  the  liberties  of 
the  country.  There  was  a  large  Huguenot  ele 
ment  in  the  population.  Visited  twice  by  pass 
ing  priests,  in  1789  the  Catholics  desired  a 
church  and  purchased  a  worn-out  Methodist 
meeting-house.  In  1790  the  last  remnant  of 
discrimination  against  Catholics  was  removed 
from  the  Constitution  of  South  Carolina,  and  in 


CHARLESTON. 

1791  the  Catholic  Church  was  incorporated  by 
the  Legislature,  and  the  little  congregation,  six 
hundred  miles  from  the  nearest  priest,  preserved 
the  faith,  until  Rev.  S.  F.  O'Gallagher  was  sent 
as  their  pastor  in  1793.  In  1817  dissensions  in 
the  Congregations  were  healed  by  Rev.  B.  J. 
Fenwick,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Cloriviere  became  pastor 
until  1819.  Bishop  England  in  1820  found  but 
two  churches  open  and  two  priests  in  the'  three 
States.  In  wealth  and  social  influence  his  people 
contrasted  strangely  with  the  rest  of  the  com 
munity,  but  the  powerful  intellect,  graceful  elo 
quence  and  apostolic  zeal  of  Dr.  England 
achieved  great  results.  He  had  ordained  two 
priests  for  the  Diocese  in  Ireland,  and  one  of 
them,  Rev.  Mr.  Corkery,  came  with  him.  He 
visited  his  vast  Diocese  and  hunted  up  Catholic 
families  and  even  individuals  ;  he  established  a 
classical  school  and  then  a  seminary,  but  these 
efforts  drew  forth  violent  opposition  of  the  sec 
tarians.  Deaths  and  departures  left  the  Bishop 
almost  alone,  but  he  struggled  on.  In  the  midst 
of  poverty  he  revived  classical  studies  in  Charles 
ton,  became  a  leading  member  of  its  Philosophical 
and  Literary  Association  and  formed  an  Anti-Duel 
ling  Association,  with  the  most  influential  gen 
tlemen  of  the  State  as  his  fellow-members,  and 
established  the  United  States  Catholic  Miscellany, 
by  which  and  by  his  writings  and  his  sermons  and 
lectures  he  removed  prejudices.  But  he  did  even 
more  to  this  end  by  his  heroic  self-sacrifice  in 
the  visitations  of  yellow  fever.  He  labored  es 
pecially  for  the  religious  instruction  of  the  col 
ored  people,  held  a  special  Mass  and  Vespers  in 
his  own  cathedral  for  them,  with  instructions  by 
himself,  and  he  attended  the  confessional  with 
unwearied  patience.  He  built  the  Cathedral  of 
St.  Finbar,  at  first  a  rude  and  weather-boarded 
church,  which  resounded  with  the  richest  elo 
quence  in  America.  He  introduced  the  Ursuline 
Nuns  in  1834  and  prepared  a  convent  and  schools 
for  them,  also  the  Sisters  of  Mercy.  His  visita 
tions  and  labors  extended  not  only  over  all  the 
States  of  his  Diocese,  but  he  did  much  for  relig 
ion  throughout  the  United  States  by  his  sermons 
and  lectures,  his  wise  counsels,  his  power  of 
organization  and  his  knowledge  of  Canon  Law 
in  the  Councils  of  Baltimore.  He  died  April  n, 


DIOCESE  OF  CHARLESTON. 


39 


1842.  In  1835  Rev-  William  Clancy  was  ap 
pointed  Coadjutor  of  Dr.  England,  who  visited 
remote  parts  of  the  Diocese  and  relieved  the 
Bishop,  but  after  two  years  he  was  translated  to 
the  See  of  Demarara.  Very  Rev.  R.  S.  Baker 
was  Administrator  after  the  death  of  Bishop 
England. 

The  Fifth  Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore  in 
May,  1843,  recommended  and  the  Holy  See  ap 
pointed  Rev.  Ignatius  Aloysius  Renolds,  of  Louis 
ville,  as  Bishop  England's  successor.  He  was  con 
secrated  at  Cincinnati  by  Archbishop  Purcell, 
March  19,  1844,  and  on  arrival  at  Charleston  is 
sued  a  fine  Pastoral  to  his  priests  and  people, 
and  made  annual  visitations  with  great  results 
for  his  scattered  flock  and  receiving  converts  into 
the  Church.  At  Newberne,  in  North  Carolina, 
was  a  faithful  and  devout  congregation,  founded 
before  the  Revolution  by  the  Gaston  family, 
which  he  visited  and  consoled.  He  secured  all 
possible  assistance  for  his  Diocese  from  the  As 
sociation  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith,  and 
applied  to  his  seminary,  and  in  1845  he  visited 
Europe  for  relief  and  aid.  He  built  the  New 
Cathedral  of  St.  Finbar,  for  which  Bishop  Eng 
land  provided  the  land,  and  had  it  consecrated 
with  great  ceremony  by  Bishop  Gartland,  of  Sa 
vannah,  assisted  by  several  Bishops  and  numer 
ous  priests,  on  April  6,  1854,  Archbishop  Hughes 
preaching  the  consecration  sermon.  He  had 
compiled  and  published  the  learned  and  volum 
inous  works  of  Bishop  England,  and  at  the  Sixth 
Council  of  Baltimore  he  was  selected  to  preach 
the  public  sermon  on  the  "  Unity  of  the  Church." 
He  represented  his  Diocese  also  in  the  Seventh 
Council  of  Baltimore  in  1849  an^  in  tne  First 
Plenary  Council  in  1857.  His  episcopate  lasted 
eleven  years.  .  He  died  March  9,  1855,  at  which 
time  the  Diocese  possessed  nineteen  churches, 
forty  chapels  and  schools,  fourteen  priests,  be 
sides  charitable  institutions  and  schools,  and  a 
Catholic  population  of  five  thousand.  In  1850 
the  Diocese  of  Savannah  was  carved  out  of  that 
of  Charleston. 

Very  Rev.  Patrick  Nieson  Lynch,  D.  D.,  Vicar- 
General,  was  appointed  to  succeed  Bishop  Re 
nolds.  He  was  consecrated  at  St.  Finbar's  Ca 
thedral  by  Archbishop  Kenrick,  of  Baltimore, 
March  14,  1855,  and  the  Bahama  Islands  were 
added  to  his  Diocese  by  the  Holy  See.  Religion 


made  slow  but  sure  progress  in  the  South,  sev 
eral  conversions  following  the  installation  of 
Bishop  Lynch.  But  the  political  agitations  which 
preceded  the  civil  war  were  culminating.  In  1860 
South  Carolina  seceded  from  the  Union,  Georgia 
and  North  Carolina  followed.  A  disastrous  fire 
destroyed  the  eastern  part  of  the  city.  The 
cathedral,  Bishop's  residence,  the  Diocesan 
library  and  much  valuable  Church  property  was 
destroyed.  Convents,  schools  and  churches  were 
lost,  and  the  insurance  on  the  cathedral  had  ex 
pired  ;  Sherman's  army  marched  through  the  in 
terior,  the  city  was  bombarded,  the  people  fled  ;  the 
conflagration  at  Columbia  made  ruins  of  St.  Mary's 


Ruins  of  the  Cathedral  at  Charleston,  S.  C. 

College,  the  Sisters'  Home,  the  Ursuline  Convent, 
and  all  seemed  destroyed.  Bishop  Lynch  went  to 
Europe  on  a  mission  for  the  Confederacy,  and  dur 
ing  his  absence  the  Diocese  was  administered  by 
the  Archbishop  of  Baltimore.  On  his  return  he 
found  all  lost.  Fire,  famine,  sword  and  indebted 
ness  devastated  the  land.  Bishop  Lynch,  with 
an  almost  broken  heart,  undertook  to  restore  the 
Church.  He  spent  much  of  seventeen  years  in 
travelling  through  the  country,  making  appeals 
to  the  Catholics  of  every  Diocese  for  relief. 
Through  his  efforts  mainly  the  Cathedral,  the 
residence  of  the  Bishop  and  clergy  on  Broad 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF   BALTIMORE. 


street,  the  Male  Orphan  Asylum  and  the  churches 
were  rebuilt,  restored  or  repaired,  and  the  debt  of 
two  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  dollars,  of 
which  one  hundred  thousand  represented  the  de 
posits  of  the  poor,  was  paid  off  to  within  fifteen 
thousand  dollars.  In  the  midst  of  his  troubles 
he  organized  schools  for  the  colored  people,  and 
he  secured  from  the  Holy  See  the  erection  of 
North  Carolina  into  a  Vicariate  Apostolic,  with 
Right  Rev.  James  Gibbons,  now  Cardinal,  as 
Vicar-Apostolic.  He  represented  the  Diocese  in 
the  Councils  of  Baltimore  and  in  the  CEcumenical 
Council  of  the  Vatican.  He  was  a  man  of  great 
learning  and  eloquence,  and  left  behind  him 
lectures  on  many  ecclesiastical  and  scientific 
questions  of  practical  value.  In  the  midst  of  ill- 
health  he  prosecuted  his  labors.  The  upland 


district  of  his  diocese  received  his  visitation  in 
1881.  His  death  occurred  on  February  26,  1882. 
Very  Rev.  D.  J.  Quigley  became  Adminis 
trator. 

Pope  Leo  XIII.  transferred  to  the  See  of 
Charleston  the  Right  Rev.  Henry  Pinckney 
Northrop,  then  Vicar-Apostolic  of  North  Caro 
lina,  by  brief  of  January  27,  1883  ;  but  he  con 
tinued  to  act  as  Vicar-Apostolic  until  the  ap 
pointment  of  Dr.  Haid  in  1888.  During  the  five 
years  that  Bishop  Northrop  has  presided  over 
the  Diocese  of  Charleston  he  has  given  an  impe 
tus  to  religious  interests.  The  churches  and 
stations  have  increased  from  twenty-four  to  forty- 
eight,  white  and  colored  Parochial  Schools  have 
been  organized,  and  a  Benedictine  Abbey  founded 
at  Belmont,  North  Carolina. 


DIOCESE  OF  RICHMOND. 


IT  has  already  been  related  that  the  See  of 
Richmond  was  erected  in  1820.  Bishop  Kelly 
was  appointed  first  Bishop,  but  was  translated  to 
an  Irish  See  after  a  few  months,  and  the  admin 
istration  of  the  Diocese  was  confided  to  the  Arch 
bishop  of  Baltimore  from  that  time  until  1841. 
By  Bulls  of  December  19,  1840,  the  Holy  See 


Cathedral  of  St.  Peter,  Richmond,  Va. 

restored  the  Diocese,  and  appointed  Rev.  Richard 
Vincent  Whelan  its  second  Bishop.  He  was 
consecrated  at  the  Baltimore  Cathedral  by  Arch 
bishop  Eccleston  on  March  21,  1841,  when  the 
Diocese  contained  six  priests,  three  female 
schools,  six  churches  and  several  stations  and  a 


Catholic  population  of  about  six  thousand  scat 
tered  over  sixty-one  thousand  square  miles.  He 
at  once  appealed  to  the  Societies  for  the  Propaga 
tion  of  the  Faith  at  Paris,  Lyons  and  Vienna  for 
aid,  and  obtained  a  liberal  and  generous  re 
sponse.  Female  schools  had  been  established 
with  success  at  Norfolk,  Richmond  and  Martins- 
burgh,,,  and  he  now  founded  a  boys'  school  at 
Richmond,  which  he  intended  to  rear  up  for  an 
Ecclesiastical  Seminary.  His  appeal  for  stu 
dents  who  aspired  to  the  priesthood  was  answered 
in  1841  by  ten  students,  and  in  1842  three 
others,  one  of  whom  was  Henry  F.  Parke,  who 
for  many  years  afterwards  in  the  Dioceses  of 
Richmond  and  Wheeling  was  Bishop  Whelan's 
trusted  and  laborious  assistant,  adviser  and 
Vicar-General,  whose  pen  has  rendered  such  val 
uable  services  to  the  history  of  Catholicity  in  the 
two  Dioceses,  and  such  a  well-merited  tribute  to 
the  services  and  character  of  Bishop  Whelan. 
Bishop  Whelan  was  rector  and  Rev.  J.  Guerdel 
was  vice-rector  of  the  new  Seminary  ;  and  besides 
these  students  there  were  several  Seminarians  at 
All  Hallows,  Dublin,  and  St.  Mary's,  Baltimore, 
preparing  for  the  Richmond  Diocese.  His  first 
ordination  was  of  Rev.  James  Hewitt  on  January 
6,  1842.  In  August  of  that  year  he  visited  and 
founded  the  Mission  at  Wytheville,  and  received 
from  Captain  John  P.  Matthews  a  donation  of  a 
lot  for  a  church,  and  on  this  same  visitation  he 


DIOCESE  OF   RICHMOND. 


went  through  Kanawha,  Guyandotte,  Big  Sandy, 
Parkersburg  on  the  Ohio,  Morgantown,  Weston, 
Kingwood,  Hardy,  Hampshire,  Lynchburg,  Statin- 
ton,  Charlottesville,  Lexington,  and  indeed 
nearly  the  entire  region  of  the  Dioceses  of  Rich 
mond  and  Wheeling.  New  churches,  chapels  and 
stations  were  founded  at  numerous  places  and 
points ;  he  provided  for  several  of  them,  and  the 
Bishop  was  himself  the  most  laborious  missionary 
iu  the  Diocese.  He  introduced  the  •  Visitation 
Nuns  into  Wheeling,  and,  intrusting  the  interests 
of  the  Church  at  Richmond  and  the  eastern  sec 
tion  to  Father  Timothy  O'Brien,  he  made  his 
own  residence  at  Wheeling,  and  took  charge  of 
the  Missions  in  West  Virginia,  where  he  was  an 
apostle  of  religion.  In  the  Seventh  Council  of 
Baltimore  he  recommended  the  division  of  his 
Diocese.  The  Council  acceded  to  his  views ; 
but  it  was  not  until  July  23,  1.850,  that  the  Papal 
Bulls  were  issued,  and  thenceforth  Dr.  Whelan 
was  Bishop  of  Wheeling.  Rev.  John  McGill, 
pastor  of  St.  Louis,  Church  at  Louisville,  Ken 
tucky,  was  next  appointed  Bishop  of  Richmond. 
He  was  consecrated  on  November  10,  1850,  at 
Bardstown  by  the  Most  Rev.  Peter  Richard 
Kenrick,  Archbishop  of  St.  Louis,  and  repaired  to 
Richmond,  where  he  arrived  on  December  6, 1850. 
During  the  twenty-two  years  of  Bishop  McGill's 
administration,  with  poverty  of  means,  of  priests, 
of  Catholic  population,  yet  with  many  difficulties, 
the  Diocese  gained  much  for  the  interests  of 
religion.  His  visitations  were  regular  and 
laborious.  In  1856  he  visited  Fredericksburg, 
preached  and  chanted  the  services  which  more 
than  three  hundred  years  before  under  Melendez 
had  been  chanted  by  Dominican  monks  there  on 
the  Rappahannock.  On  December  7,  1856,  St. 
Patrick's  Church  at  Norfolk  was  burned,  and  on 
March  25,  1857,  Bishop  McGill  laid  the  corner 
stone  of  the  new  church  for  which  Father  O'Keefe 
had  collected  funds.  On  September  19,  1858,  he 
laid  the  corner-stone  of  St.  Mary's  at  Fairfax 
Station;  on  October  4,  1858,  he  blessed  the 
Church  at  Portsmouth;  on  June  12,  1859,  laid 
the  corner-stone  of  St.  Patrick's  at  Richmond, 
and  on  September  9,  1860,  that  of  St.  Mary  Star 
of  the  Sea  at  Fortress  Monroe.  He  organ 
ized  new  congregations  or  stations  wherever  a 


handful  of  Catholics  were  found,  and  eight  or  nine 
churches  were  dedicated,  amongst  which  were 
those  of  Richmond,  Norfolk,  Fortress  Monroe, 
Fredericksburgh,  Fairfax  Station  and  Warren- 
ton.  He  introduced  the  Sisters  of  Charity  in 
1867,  and  placed  them  in  charge  of  schools,  and 
also  the  Visitation  Nuns  in  1864,  and  provided 
for  them  a  convent  and  academy  at  a  large  ex 
pense.  The  Cathedral  was  enlarged,  and  St. 
Joseph's  Orphan  Asylum  founded.  He  was  a 
powerful  and  convincing  expounder  of  Catholic 
dogmas,  and  his  controversial  sermons  were  un 
surpassed.  At  the  Vatican  Council  he  delivered 
a  profound  public  discourse.  He  represented  the 
Diocese  in  the  Councils  of  Baltimore,  and  held 
Diocesan  Synods.  He  died  January  14,  1872, 
and  was  succeeded  by  Right  Rev.  James  Gib 
bons,  Vicar-Apostolic  of  North  Carolina,  now 
Cardinal,  on  July  30,  1872,  who  still  retained  the 
Vicariate  of  North  Carolina.  Bishop  Gibbous 
served  the  Diocese  of  Richmond  nearly  five 
years,  during  which  time  churches  increased  from 
fifteen  to  twenty-two,  chapels  and  stations  from 
eighteen  to  twenty-four,  priests  from  twenty- 
one  to  twenty-four,  and  there  was  a  simi 
lar  increase  in  ecclesiastical,  educational  and 
charitable  institutions.  In  1877  Bishop  Gibbons 
was  transferred  to  Baltimore,  and  Rev.  John  J. 
Keane,  from  St.  Patrick's  Church,  Washington, 
was  appointed  Bishop  of  Richmond.  He  was 
consecrated  on  August  25,  1878,  and  represented 
the  Diocese  in  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of 
Baltimore  in  1884  with  distinction.  Religion 
and  education  advanced  during  his  administra 
tion,  and  Catholic  lay  organization,  in  which  he 
took  a  prominent  interest,  assumed  considerable 
proportions  in  Richmond  and  other  Virginia 
cities.  He  increased  the  clergy  of  the  Diocese 
from  twenty-four  to  thirty-two ;  churches  and  sta 
tions  from  forty-six  to  fifty-nine.  A  great  number 
of  Parochial  Schools  were  established,  and  High 
Schools  for  males  and  females  multiplied.  He  in 
troduced  the  Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor,  and  estab 
lished  them  in  St.  Sophia's  Home  for  Aged  People. 
On  his  appointment  as  Rector  of  the  American 
Catholic  University,  the  Holy  Father  accepted 
his  resignation  of  the  See  of  Richmond,  which  at 
the  present  writing  is  vacant. 


ARCHDIOCESE   OF   BALTIMORE. 


DIOCESE  OF 

THE  Papal  Bulls  creating  the  See  of  Wheeling 
and  appointing  Right  Rev.  Richard  Vincent 
Whelan,  Bishop  of  Richmond,  its  first  Bishop, 
were  dated  July  23,  1850.  The  Bishop  had 
already  made  his  residence  at  Wheeling  for  some 
years,  and  he  continued  the  laborious  task  he 
had  begun.  His  Diocese  was  as  large  as  the 


St.  Joseph's  Cathedral,  Wheeling,  West  Virginia. 

three  States  of  Vermont,  New  Jersey  and  Mas 
sachusetts,  contained  a  population  of  301,223 
souls,  of  whom  20,500  were  blacks,  and  5,000 


WHEELING. 

Catholics  scattered  over  a  vast  and  wild  region, 
with  only  two  priests,  two  churches  and  one  or 
two  stations — no  religious  institution.  The 
Bishop  had  already  built  St.  Joseph's  Cathedral, 
and  the  debt  thus  incurred  necessitated  his  mak 
ing  a  tour  through  Europe  for  assistance.  Be 
sides  attending  to  the  spiritual  needs  of  his  own 
people,  he  received  a  number  of  distinguished 
converts  into  the  church,  such  as  the  families  of 
Breckenridge,  Smj'th,  Mathews,  Robertson,  Dun, 
Aiken,  Jenkins  and  Floyd.  He  introduced  the 
Visitation  Nuns  and  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph.  The 
latter  took  charge  of  the  Schools  of  Wheeling, 
with  2,000  children  attending.  Six  academies 
for  young  ladies,  four  convents,  one  hospital, 
one  orphan  asylum  and  a  college  are  some  of 
the  fruits  of  his  labors  and  zeal.  The  Catholic 
population  was  increased  to  eighteen  thousand, 
the  churches  to  forty-eight  and  forty  stations, 
and  his  priests  to  twenty-nine.  Few  Dioceses 
made  such  rapid  and  solid  progress.  He  was  as 
sisted  by  the  valuable  services  of  Father  Parke, 
his  Vicar-General.  He  died  at  St.  Agnes'  Hos 
pital,  Baltimore,  on  July  7,  1874.  His  remains 
were  interred  in  his  Cathedral  at  Wheeling. 

Rev.  John  J.  Kain,  a  young  and  laborious 
missionary  of  West  Virginia,  was  next  appointed 
Bishop  of  Richmond,  and  was  consecrated  by 
Archbishop  Bayley  in  the  Baltimore  Cathedral 
on  May  2,  1875.  So  active  a  missionary  has 
proved  a  still  more  active  and  energetic  Bishop. 
The  statistics  of  the  Diocese  show  great  progress 
in  religious  interests  and  works  of  every  kind. 
Churches,  parochial  schools  and  other  institu 
tions  have  multiplied,  and  the  Diocese  is  in  a 
prosperous  condition. 


DIOCESE  OF 

THE  Seventh  Council  of  Baltimore,  having 
recommended  it  in  May,  1849,  the  Holy  See,  re 
tarded  in  its  action  by  the  Roman  Revolution, 
created  the  See  of  Savannah  on  August  9,  1850, 
and  appointed  its  first  Bishop  Very  Rev.  Francis 
Xavier  Gartland,  then  Vicar-General  of  Philadel 
phia,  who  was  consecrated  on  September  20  at  St. 
John's  Church,  Philadelphia,  by  Archbishop  Ec- 
cleston.  The  Diocese  covered  the  State  of  Geor- 


SAVANNAH. 

gia  and  all  of  Florida  east  of  Apalachicola,  and 
during  Dr.  Gartland's  short  administration  of 
four  years,  three  new  churches  were  erected ;  he 
enlarged  the  Cathedral  of  St.  John  the  Baptist 
with  .an  addition  twenty-five  by  sixty  feet,  and 
re-dedicated  it  on  June  26,  1853.  In  1850  he 
went  to  Europe  to  get  aid  for  his  sparse  flock  and 
need}-  Diocese  of  5,500  Catholics  scattered  over 
Georgia  and  East  Florida.  An  orphan  asylum. 


DIOCESE   OF   SAVANNAH. 


43 


for  "boys  was  established  at  Savannah,  also  the 
Society  of  Our  Lady  Help  of  Christians,  Con 
fraternity  of  the  Rosary,  Confraternity  of  St. 
John  the  Baptist  for  the  Prevention  of  Intemper 
ance,  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  and  Day 
and  Christian  Doctrine  Schools,  and  at  Augusta 
a  parent  house  of  Our  Lady  of  Mercy.  The 
Catholic  population  was  nearly  doubled  in  four 
years.  He  died  September  20,  1854,  a  victim  of 
yellow  fever,  having  spent  himself  for  the  relief 
of  the  fever-stricken ;  he  and  Bishop  Barren, 
Vicar-Apostolic  of  the  two  Guineas  in  Africa,  and 
two  priests  of  the  Diocese,  all  fell  victims  to  their 
heroic  charity. 


Cathedral  of  Our  Lady  of  Perpetual  Help,  Savannah,  Ga. 

Very  Rev.  John  Barry,  Administrator  of  the 
Diocese,  continued  to  discharge  the  duties  of  that 
office  until  1857,  when  he  was  appointed  second 
Bishop  of  Savannah.  He  was  consecrated  at  the 
Baltimore  Cathedral  by  Archbishop  Kenrick  on 
Sunday,  August  2,  1857.  While  Administrator 
he  represented  the  Diocese  in  the  Eighth  Council 
of  Baltimore,  in  May,  1855.  He  governed  the 
Diocese  two  years  as  Administrator  and  three  as 
Bishop.  But  his  severe  labors  and  exposures 
during  the  yellow  fever  epidemic  had  under 


mined  his  health  ;  yet  his  visitations  were  labor 
ious  and  zealous,  and  he  left  the  Diocese  improved. 
A  trip  to  Europe  for  his  health  in  July,  1859,  af 
forded  him  no  relief.  He  died  November  19, 1859. 
In  July,  1 86 1,  Bishop  Verot,  Vicar-Apostolic 
of  Florida,  was  transferred  to  the  See  of  Savan 
nah,  but  he  still  retained  the  administration  of 
the  Vicafiate  of  Florida.  The  Diocese  of  Georgia 
was  devastated  by  the  civil  war,  to  whose  ravages 
St.  Mary's  Church,  in  Camden  county,  and  the  fine 
church  at  Dalton  were  sacrificed.  And  yet  it  was 
during  that  destructive  period  that  the  Church  of 
the  Holy  Trinity  at  Savannah  was  completed  and 
dedicated,  and  scarcely  had  the  war  ended  when 
a  new  church  was  built  at  Albany.  The  Ursu- 
lines  from  the  ruined  convent  at  Columbia  estab 
lished  a  school  at  Macon,  and  the  Sisters  of  Mercy 
from  St.  Augustine  opened  a  house  at  Columbus. 
In  the  midst  of  the  poverty  of  the  Diocese  the 
orphans  were  cared  for,  of  whom  the  war  made 
many,  a  colony  of  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  were 
brought  from  France  by  Bishop  Verot,  and  the 
Asylum  was  confided  to  them  and  its  name 
changed  to  St.  Joseph's  Barry  Male  Orphan 
Asylum,  in  honor  of  his  noble  predecessor.  The 
Bishop  attended  the  Councils  of  Baltimore  and 
the  Council  of  the  Vatican,  and  was  always  noted 
for  his  learning  and  zeal.  The  condition  of  the 
colored  people  of  Georgia  was  improved  under 
his  administration.  He  had  six  new  churches 
building  when  he  left  the  Diocese.  In  1870  St. 
Augustine  was  made  an  episcopal  See,  and  on 
Bishop  Verot  being  translated  to  that  See,  Right 
Rev.  Ignatius  Persico,  formerly  Vicar-Apostolic 
of  Bombay  and  Agra  in  Asia,  then  visiting  and 
performing  missionary  work  in  Savannah,  was 
appointed  its  Bishop.  He  had  attended  the 
Vatican  Council  and  the  Provincial  Council  of 
Baltimore.  His  administration  lasted  three 
years  and  bore  abundant  fruits  for  religion,  ed 
ucation  and  charity.  He  was  a  prelate  of  great 
ability.  In  1870  he  resigned  on  account  of  his 
health.  Rev.  William  H.  Gross,  Redemptorist, 
pastor  of  the  Redemptorist  Church  at  Boston, 
was  appointed  Bishop  of  Savannah,  was  con 
secrated  on  April  27,  1870,  and  installed  by 
Bishop  Persico.  Bishop  Gross's  administration 
was  remarkable  for  the  efforts  made  for  the  re 
ligious  care  and  improvement  of  the  colored  peo 
ple,  and  he  called  the  Benedictines  and  Priests 


44 

of  the  Missionary  Society  of  St.  Joseph  into  the 
Diocese,  more  especially  for  this  purpose;  the 
Benedictine  Mission  on  Skidway  Island,  near 
Savannah,  was  founded  for  the  education  of  colored 
boys,  and  in  1884  had  fifty  pupils;  and  schools 
for  colored  children  were  established  at  the  Ca 
thedral  and  Sacred  Heart  parishes,  also  Convent 
of  Franciscan  Nuns  of  the  Immaculate  Concep 
tion,  near  Augusta,  for  colored  girls,  and  schools 
at  Sharon  and  Washington  under  the  Sisters  of 
St.  Joseph.  He  founded  Pio  Nono  College  at 
Macon,  the  Jesuit  Mission  at  Augusta,  and  many 
other  religious  and  educational  institutions.  He 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE. 


built  the  beautiful  Cathedral  of  Our  Lady  of 
Perpetual  Help ;  he  increased  the  churches, 
chapels  and  stations  from  forty-eight  to  seventy, 
priests  from  twelve  to  twenty-seven,  and  so  with 
other  works  of  the  Church.  In  1884  he  was 
transferred  to  the  Archiepiscopal  See  of  Oregon 
City,  and  Very  Rev.  E.  Cafferty  was  appointed 
administrator.  On  March  26,  1886,  Right  Rev. 
Thomas  A.  Becker,  Bishop  of  Wilmington,  Dela 
ware,  was  transferred  to  the  See  of  Savannah. 
For  the  short  time  he  has  been  in  Savannah  the 
statistics  show  an  increase  in  its  churches  and 
priests. 


DIOCESE  OF  ST.  AUGUSTINE. 

The  Vicariate  Apostolic  of  East  Florida  was  Tampa  he  collected  funds  from  the  people  and 
created  by  Papal  Bull  of  January  9,  1857.  Rev.  commenced  a  church,  which  he  called  St.  Louis, 
Augustine  Verot,  Pastor  at  Ellicott's  Mills,  near  in  honor  of  Father  Louis  Cancer,  who  was 
Baltimore,  was  appointed  Vicar  Apostolic  under  martyred  off  that  coast  three  hundred  years  ago. 
the  title  of  Bishop  of  Danabe,  was  consecrated  by  The  Cathedral  of  St.  Augustine  was  repaired,  and 
the  Most  Rev.  Francis  Patrick  Kenrick  in  the  the  Chapel  of  Our  Lady  of  Milk  was  dug  out  and 
Baltimore  Cathedral  on  April  25,  1858,  and  be-  restored,  a  statue  of  the  Virgin  Mother  Nursing 

the  Infant  Saviour  erected  on  the  spot,  and  the 
old  Spanish  Cemetery  was  renovated ;  the  Church 
of  St.  Mary  Star  of  the  Sea,  at  Key  West,  was 
enlarged.  At  Jacksonville,  where  the  church 
had  been  burned  in  the  war  and  the  Catholics 
were  worshipping  in  a  temporary  plank  shelter, 
he  built  the  Church  of  the  Immaculate  Concep 
tion,  which  was  opened  for  divine  service  Novem 
ber  1 6,  1873.  At  Fernandina  a  fine  church  was 
built  and  named  St.  Michael's,  in  honor  of  Father 
Michael  de  Aunon,  who  had  suffered  martyrdom 
there.  Churches  and  residences  were  founded  at 
Tallahassee,  at  Mandarin  and  Palatka,  and  mis 
sions  were  established  at  Mill  Creek,  Moccasin, 
Picolata,  St.  John's  Bar,  Green  Cove,  Lake  City, 
Gainesville,  Staike,  New  Smyrna,  Manatee,  Tor- 
tugas  and  other  places.  The  colored  Catholics  of 
St.  Augustine  were  organized  into  societies,  and 
the  two  wings  of  the  cathedral  were  erected  for 
their  accommodation,  and  dedicated  to  St.  Monica 
and  St.  Benedict,  the  Moor.  Colored  schools  were 
opened  at  Fernandina,  St.  Augustine,  Mandarin 
and  Jacksonville.  A  boys'  high  school  was 
erected,  and  having  introduced  the  Sisters  of  St. 
Joseph,  girls'  academies  were  erected  at  St.  Au 
gustine,  Jacksonville,  Fernandina,  Mandarin  and 
Palatka;  and  having  introduced  the  Sisters  of  the 


Cathedral  of  St.  Augustine,  Fla. 

fore  going  to  his  Vicariate  he  attended  the  Ninth 
Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore,  held  on  May  2, 
1858.  The  old  Catholic  history,  the  names  of  its 
missionaries  and  martyrs,  and  the  sites  of  ancient 
shrines  were  investigated  and  revived  by  Bishop 
Verot.  He  was  the  first  to  publish  the  resources 
and  capabilities  of  Florida,  with  the  view  of 
attracting  immigration,  and  by  his  first  Pastoral 
he  invited  missionaries  to  that  ancient  field. 
The  whole  State  was  visited  by  November.  At 


DIOCESE  OF   WILMINGTON. 


45 


Holy  Names  from  Hochelaga,  in  Canada,  an 
academy  was  established  at  Key  West.  He  made 
a  brave  struggle  to  recover  church  properties  at 
St.  Augustine  in  the  hands  of  the  Federal 
Government.  In  1859  Bishop  Verot  became 
Bishop  of  Savannah,  but  continued  to  administer 
the  Vicariate  of  Florida.  The  orphans  of  Florida 
were  provided  for  in  various  institutions  of  the 
Vicariate.  In  1879  the  Diocese  of  St.  Augus 
tine  was  erected,  and  Bishop  Verot  returned  to 
St.  Augustine  as  its  Bishop.  Much  was  done  dur 
ing  the  next  six  years  in  restoring  and  renovating 
churches,  schools  and  religious  houses  in  Florida, 
and  the  Bishop  made  several  tours  to  the  North 
and  made  collections  for  the  relief  of  his  Diocese. 
Scarcely  another  man  could  have  done  so  much, 
and  the  good  Bishop  now  found,  what  he  never 
seemed  to  anticipate,  that  his  health  was  impaired. 
He  died  suddenly  at  St.  Augustine,  July  16, 
1876,  and  was  buried  in  the  Old  Cathedral. 
Very  Rev.  John  Moore,  Vicar-General  of 


Charleston,  was  appointed  Bishop  of  St.  Augus 
tine,  was  consecrated  on  May  13,  1877,  and  in 
stalled  in  the  ancient  Cathedral  of  Florida  on  the 
aoth.  Large  and  substantial  ecclesiastical  resi 
dences  have  been  built  at  St.  Augustine  and 
Jacksonville.  Under  his  approval  a  new  Catholic 
colony  was  founded  at  the  new  town  of  San  An 
tonio,  under  the  presidency  of  Col.  Edmund 
Dunne,  in  Hernando,  now  Pasco,  county ;  the 
Benedictines  have  been  received  into  the  Diocese, 
sent  to  the  colony  and  placed  in  charge  of  the 
Church  of  St.  Anthony  of  Padua,  and  a  school  es 
tablished  there.  Colored  congregations,  churches 
and  societies  have  increased ;  in  1877  the  Diocese 
had  eleven  priests,  now  it  has  sixteen,  and  with 
limited  means  solid  progress  has  been  made.  In 
1887  the  venerable  Cathedral  of  St.  Augustine 
was  almost  destroyed  by  fire,  and  the  Bishop 
travelled  in  America  and  Europe  soliciting  means 
for  its  restoration,  and  met  with  much  sympathy 
and  success. 


DIOCESE  OF  WILMINGTON. 


THE  Diocese  of  Wilmington,  which  embraces 
the  State  of  Delaware  and  the  counties  of  the 
Eastern  Shores  of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  was 


St.  Peter's  Pro-Cathedral,  Wilmington,  Del. 

created  by  the  Holy  See  in  1868,  and  Rev. 
Thomas  A.  Becker,  of  the  Baltimore  Cathedral, 
was  appointed  its  first  Bishop.  Receiving  conse 
cration  on  August  1 6,  1868,  he  took  early  pos 
session  of  the  See  and  made  St.  Peter's  his  Pro- 
cathedral.  The  Sisters  of  St.  Benedict  and  the 
Sisters  of  St.  Francis  were  established  at  Wil 
mington,  and  the  Neale  Orphan  Asylum  under 


the  Benedictine  Sisters,  He  introduced  the  Jes 
uits  into  the  Diocese.  Churches,  priests  and 
schools  have  increased,  and  in  1886,  when  Bishop 
Becker  was  transferred  to  Savannah,  the  outfit 
of  the  Diocese  was  nearly  doubled.  Rev.  Alfred 
A.  Curtis,  of  the  Baltimore  Cathedral,  was  ap 
pointed  second  Bishop  of  Wilmington,  was  con 
secrated  on  November  14,  1886,  and  was  escorted 
to  his  See  immediately,  being  accompanied  by 
Cardinal  Gibbons,  Bishop  Becker,  and  other  pre 
lates,  and  large  delegations  of  priests  and  laymen 
of  the  Dioceses  of  Baltimore  and  Wilmington,  a 
special  train  carrying  the  company  from  Balti 
more  to  Wilmington.  He  was  installed  at  St. 
Peter's  on  November  aist.  The  energetic  and 
zealous  beginning  made  by  Bishop  Curtis  prom 
ises  a  successful  and  prosperous  administration. 
He  was  an  Episcopalian  minister,  is  a  convert  and 
a  man  of  learning  and  of  labor.  Bishop  Becker 
commenced  with  a  poor  Diocese  and  scattered 
flock,  unorganized  and  almost  destitute.  Now, 
without  any  means  from  abroad,  the  Diocese  pos 
sesses  twenty-two  priests,  nine  benevolent  socie 
ties,  two  asylums,  two  academies,  thirteen  eccle 
siastical  students,  and  a  Catholic  population  of 
about  16.000.  There  is  a  Protectory  for  boys 


46 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE. 


and  a  Visitation  Academy ;  and  besides  the  Jes-  Visitation  Nuns,  Sisters  of  Charity,  and  Sisters 
nits,  there  are  several  female  religious  orders,  of  St.  Francis.  The  Diocese  is  in  a  flourishing 
such  as  Benedictine  Fathers,  with  a  High  School,  state,  with  bright  prospects. 


VlCARIATE-APOSTOLIC   OF  NORTH   CAROLINA. 


THE  Vicariate-Apostolic  of  North  Carolina 
was  erected  by  Bull  of  Pope  Pius  IX.,  dated 
March  3,  1868.  Rev.  James  Gibbons,  of  Balti 
more,  now  Cardinal,  was  appointed  Vicar-Apos 
tolic,  who,  receiving  consecration  under  the  title 
of  Bishop  of  Adrymatum,  organized  and  admin 
istered  the  Vicariate  until  October  3, 1877.  North 
Carolina  had  been  visited  in  1819  by  Father 
Carney,  from  Baltimore.  The  first  permanent 
pastor  was  Rev.  Francis  Donahue,  in  1824, 


Pro-Cathedral  of  St.  Thomas,  Wilmington,  N.  C. 

Father  Sennen  (Dr.  Cooper)  succeeded  him  in 
1827.  Next  came  Father  Barry,  1828 ;  Father 
Byrne,  1830;  Father  Bolinard,  1830  and  1834; 
Father  Whelan,  in  1832  ;  Father  Gillickin,  in 
1836;  Father  Farrell,  in  1827;  and  Fathers 
Murphy  and  Doyle  in  1838  and  succeeding  years. 
Bishop  Gibbons  found  in  the  whole  State  two  or 
three  priests,  as  many  churches,  and  a  scattered 
Catholic  population  of  1,000,  all  the  adults  of 
whom  he  knew  personally  and  by  name.  Visita 


tions  were  made  with  labor  and  suffering,  travel 
by  day  and  night.  The  sacraments  were  admin 
istered  in  garrets  and  basements ;  a  school  was 
opened,  many  converts  were  received,  the  Bene 
dictine  order  was  introduced,  and  the  Rev.  J.  J. 
O'Connell,  O.  S.  B.,  having  given  them  a  farm 
at  Mariastein,  in  Gaston  county,  a  convent  was 
founded.  The  Sisters  of  Mercy  were  established 
at  Wilmington  in  1869.  Priests  were  ordained, 
new  churches  built  and  schools  opened.  The 
Catholic  population  was  nearly  doubled.  The 
Benedictine  Abbey  of  St.  Mary  Help  was  founded 
in  June,  1877. 

August  25,  1878,  Right  Rev.  John  J.  Keane 
became  Bishop  of  Richmond  and  Vicar-Apostolic 
of  North  Carolina,  and  served  in  the  latter  office 
iintil  1881,  and,  though  at  the  same  time  Bishop 
of  Richmond,  he  visited  and  labored  successfully 
for  the  Church  of  North  Carolina.  On  January 
8,  1882,  Rev.  Henry  Pinckney  Northrop,  of 
Charleston,  was  appointed  Vicar-Apostolic,  and 
served  until  June,  1888,  when  Right  Rev.  Leo 
Haid,  O.  S.  B.,  Mitred  Abbot  of  Mary-Help  Ab 
bey,  at  Belmont,  N.  C.,  was  appointed  Vicar- 
Apostolic  under  the  title  of  Bishop  of  Messene, 
and  is  now  ably  and  zealously  administering  the 
Vicariate.  When  Bishop  Gibbons  was  appointed 
Vicar  in  1868,  the  State  was  almost  wholly  des 
titute  of  churches  and  priests.  Under  the  ad 
ministrations  of  Bishops  Gibbons,  Keane  and 
Northrop  the  Vicariate  has  become  possessed  of 
sixteen  priests,  twenty  churches  and  twenty- 
eight  stations,  three  convents  and  academies,  one 
abbey,  seven  parochial  schools  for  the  colored 
children  with  236  pupils.  The  Right  Rev.  Vicar- 
Apostolic  Haid  resides  at  his  Abbey  of  Mary- 
Help  at  Beimont. 


RIGHT   REV.    JOHN   J.    KEANE,    D.  D. 

Bishop  of  Ajasso,   Washington,  D.  C. 


RIGHT  REV.   THOMAS   BECKER,    D.  D. 

Bishop  of  Savannah. 


RIGHT  REV.   JOHN   MOORE,    D.  D. 
Bishop  of  St.  Augustine. 


RIGHT  REV.   JOHN  J.    KAIN,    D.  D. 
Bishop  of  Wheeling. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  J.   KEANE,  D.D. 

BISHOP  OF  AJASSO  in  partibus  infidelium,  AND  FIRST  RECTOR  OF  THE  AMERICAN  CATHOLIC  UNIVERSITY. 


THE  distinguishing  feature  in  the  character 
and  life  of  Bishop  Keane  is  the  possession  of 
talents  and  qualities  which  marked  him  out  as 
the  man  to  rear  up  the  Catholic  University, 
and  his  appointment  and  acceptance  of  the  labors 
and  duties  of  that  important  office.  Born  at 
Ballyshannon,  County  Donegal,  Ireland,  on  Sep 
tember  12,  1839,  and  brought  to  this  country 
by  his  parents  at  an  early  age,  his  practical  edu 
cation  fitted  him  for  business  pursuits,  which  he 
followed  for  a  while  in  Baltimore,  when  the  supe 
rior  aspirations  of  his  mind  and  soul  led  him  to 
aspire  to  the  holy  ministry.  He  made  his  clas 
sical  studies  at  St.  Charles  College,  his  theo 
logical  course  at  St.  Mary's,  Baltimore,  and  was 
ordained  in  1866.  His  immediate  and  only 
missionary  field  was  as  assistant  priest  at  St. 
Patrick's  Church,  Washington,  where  he  labored 
with  zeal  and  great  success.  Here  his  able  and 
striking  sermons  soon  showed  him  to  be  a  man 
of  mark  and  future  election.  All  who  consulted 
him  found  him  singularly  prudent,  thoughtful 
and  clear  in  his  judgments,  and  although  living 
almost  in  retirement,  his  wisdom  and  good  j  udg- 
ment  were  felt  beneficially  in  the  affairs  of  the 
Archdiocese  of  Baltimore.  On  the  translation 
of  Bishop  Gibbons  to  Baltimore,  in  1878,  Father 
Keane  was  universally  regarded  as  the  best  man 
to  fill  the  See  of  Richmond ;  the  appointment 
was  soon  announced,  and  he  received  consecra 
tion  on  August  25th  of  that  year. 

Bishop  Keane  has  proved  himself  an  ornament 
to  the  American  episcopate.  His  visitations  were 
productive  of  great  good  by  reason  of  his  exact 
knowledge  and  practice  of  the  canons  of  the 
Church,  and  the  gentle  earnestness  with  which 
he  required  their  observance  by  his  clergy ; 
his  sermons  teemed  at  once  with  learning  and 
persuasion,  thus  convincing  both  the  mind  and 
heart,  and  of  his  inspiring  zeal.  Religion  made 
good  progress  in  Virginia,  where  it  was  generally 
regarded  without  prejudice  but  also  without  in 


terest.  When  he  went  there  in  1878,  the  Diocese 
contained  twenty-two  churches  and  twenty-four 
chapels  and  stations  and  twenty-seven  priests ; 
when  he  resigned,  in  1888,  these  numbers  had 
been  increased  to  thirty-nine  churches,  twenty 
chapels  and  twenty  stations  and  thirty-two  priests. 
There  has  also  been  a  large  increase  in  parochial 
schools. 

Bishop  Keane  is  a  great  believer  and  promoter 
of  lay  Catholic  organization,  and  has  taken  an 
active  part  in  the  young  men's  Catholic  Societies, 
attending  their  conventions  and  identifying  him 
self  with  their  objects  and  labors.  In  the  Third 
Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore  he  was  one  of  the 
most  prominent  prelates,  and  was  selected  to 
preach  the  public  sermon  on  "  Catholic  Societies." 
When  the  American  Catholic  University  was 
organized  and  chartered  he  was  chosen  for  its 
first  Rector,  and  from  that  time,  in  addition  to 
his  episcopal  duties,  has  devoted  himself  to  that 
great  undertaking.  He  visited  Rome  and  ob 
tained  the  approval  of  Pope  Leo  XIII.  to  the 
work ;  he  has  at  the  meetings  of  the  trustees 
rendered  great  service  in  the  vast  amount  of 
details  and  business  arrangements  required  to 
be  worked  out;  he  has  travelled  through  the 
Dioceses  preaching  on  the  subject  and  obtaining 
large  sums  towards  the  endowment  of  the  Uni 
versity;  he  finally  prepared,  at  Notre  Dame  Uni 
versity,  the  Laws  of  the  Institution  in  Latin, 
had  them  printed  and  then  proceeded  to  Rome 
to  submit  them  to  the  Pope.  His  labors  in  this 
great  work  have  embraced  the  delicate  and  dif 
ficult  task  of  obtaining  professors  in  this  coun 
try  and  in  Europe,  and  his  last  visit  to  Europe 
had  this  object  also  in  view.  While  in  Rome, 
having  already  forwarded  and  had  his  resigna 
tion  as  Bishop  of  Richmond  accepted,  the  Holy 
Father  in  Consistory  held  on  February  14,  1889, 
named  him  titular  Bishop  of  Ajasso.  His  resi 
dence  will  hereafter  be  in  the  American  Catholic 
University  at  Washington  City. 

(47) 


RIGHT  REV.  THOMAS  A.   BECKER.  D.D. 

FIRST   BISHOP  OF  WILMINGTON   AND  SIXTH   BISHOP  OF  SAVANNAH. 


EARNING  and  zeal  have  united  in 
Bishop  Becker  to  make  him  a  prom 
inent  and  useful  member  of  the 
Hierarchy.  He  was  born  of 
Protestant  parentage  at  Pitts- 
burg,  Pennsylvania,  on  De 
cember  20,  1832.  His  places 
of  education  were  in  succession 
the  Allegheny  Institute,  the  Western  Uni 
versity  and  the  University  of  Virginia, 
where  he  received  not  only  an  unusual  fund 
of  knowledge,  but  also  a  superior  mental 
training.  While  in  Richmond  he  came  in  con 
tact  with  Bishop  McGill.  His  mind  was  too  log 
ical  to  escape  the  conviction  that  the  Catholic 
Church  is  the  deposit  and  custodian  of  Christian 
truth,  and  the  truth  he  joyously  embraced.  His 
mind  and  heart  led  him  further.  Embracing  the 
sacerdotal  vocation,  he  entered  the  Urban  Col 
lege  of  the  Propaganda  at  Rome  in  1854,  re 
ceived  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Theology,  and 
was  ordained  at  the  Basilica  of  St.  John  Lateran 
on  June  18,  1859,  by  Cardinal  Patrizi. 

He  returned  to  his  Diocese  and  discharged  the 
laborious  duties  of  his  first  mission  at  Martins- 
burg,  attending  also  Winchester,  Berkeley  Springs 
and  the  neighboring  counties,  a  vast  field,  which 
he  fully  covered  by  his  zeal.  He  also  was  di 
rector  of  a  fine  academy  at  Martinsburg.  On 
the  seizure  of  the  church  at  Martinsburg  by  the 
military  power  of  the  government  and  its  appro 
priation  to  barrack  use  during  the  civil  war,"  he 
went  to  Baltimore,  served  as  assistant  at  St. 
Peter's  Church  and  was  soon  afterwards  appointed 
to  fill  a  chair  at  Mt.  St.  Mary's  College,  Emmitts- 
burg,  on  the  suggestion  of  Archbishop  Kenrick, 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  faculty  and  was 
Professor  of  Theology,  Sacred  Scripture  and 
Ecclesiastical  History.  After  the  accession  of 
Archbishop  Spalding  to  the  See  of  Baltimore, 
he  became  an  assistant  priest  at  the  Cathedral 
of  that  city.  Because  of  his  accurate  and  pro- 
(48) 


found  ecclesiastical  learning  he  was  selected  as 
one  of  those  who  were  especially  commissioned 
to  prepare  the  matters  that  were  to  be  proposed 
to  the  Second  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore, 
and  at  the  Council  acted  as  one  of  its  chief 
secretaries.  He  subsequently  served  at  the  Rich 
mond  Cathedral,  and  while  thus  engaged  re 
ceived  the  appointment  of  Bishop  of  the  new 
Diocese  of  Wilmington,  Delaware. 

He  was  consecrated  at  the  Baltimore  Cathe 
dral  by  Archbishop  Spalding  on  August  16, 
1868,  and  was  almost  immediately  installed  in 
his  See,  which  extended  over  the  State  of  Dela 
ware,  and  what  are  known  as  the  Eastern  Shore 
counties  of  Maryland  and  Virginia  on  the  Chesa 
peake  Bay.  Selecting  St.  Peter's  Church  as  his 
Pro-Cathedral,  and  organizing^  his  Diocese  with 
energy  and  success,  especially  with  the  force  at 
his  command,  he  rendered  good  service  to  relig 
ion  in  that  region  for  sixteen  years.  His  visita 
tions  to  a  scattered  flock,  living  in  a  country 
much  broken  by  water,  were  laborious.  He 
doubled  the  number  of  the  secular  priests,  in 
creased  the  number  of  benevolent  societies  from 
four  to  nine,  the  asylums  from  one  to  two,  acad 
emies  from  one  to  two,  had  six  students  pre 
paring  for  the  priesthood,  and  while  immigration 
added  something  to  the  Catholic  population  he 
increased  the  number  by  conversions.  He  took 
an  active  part  at  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of 
Baltimore,  in  which  it  was  a  tribx:te  to  his  learn 
ing  that  he  was  selected  to  preach  the  public 
sermon  on  "The  Church  and  Science."  Bishop 
Becker  also  contributed  mimerous  learned  articles 
to  the  Catholic  magazines  and  papers,  and  lec 
tured  on  abstruse  and  thoughtful  or  scientific 
subjects.  When  Bishop  Gross,  of  Savannah,  was 
promoted  to  the  Archiepiscopal  dignity  and  See 
of  Oregon,  Dr.  Becker  was  appointed  his  suc 
cessor.  He  was  translated  to  the  See  of  Savan 
nah  March  26,  1886.  In  the  See  of  Savannah 
his  labors  are  most  successful. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN   MOORE,  D.D. 

SECOND   BISHOP  OF  ST.    AUGUSTINE. 


|j§>MONG  the  ancient 
Catholic  community 
of  Florida  Bishop 
Moore  has  been  a 
congenial  and  suc 
cessful  laborer.  He 
was  born  at  Castle- 
town  Devlin,  County 
Westmeath,  Ireland, 
on  June  27,  1835, 
and  arrived  in 
Charleston,  South 
Carolina,  at  the  age  of  thirteen,  in 
1848.  Here  he  received  his  academic 
education  in  the  Collegiate  Institute  and  in  the 
Seminary  of  St.  John  the  Baptist.  From  early 
years  he  aspired  to  the  priesthood,  was  sent  by 
Bishop  Lynch  to  the  College  of  Courbell  for 
four  years,  and,  after  making  his  philosophy 
there,  he  made  his  theology  in  the  Propaganda, 
always  being  regarded  as  a  successful  and  de 
vout  student.  He  was  ordained  at  Rome  by 
Right  Rev.  Luigi  Basso  on  April  9,  1860,  and 
returned  to  the  South  Carolina  Mission.  Here 
his  usefulness  and  ability  placed  him  in  respon 
sible  positions,  and  during  the  dreadful  havoc 
and  disasters  of  the  civil  war  he  was  firm  and 
courageous  at  his  post,  discharging  his  duties  as 
assistant  of  St.  Finbar's  Cathedral,  whose  destruc 
tion,  as  well  as  the  destruction  of  almost  every 


thing  the  Church  possessed,  he  witnessed.  He 
was  twelve  years  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's  Church 
and  served  for  six  years  as  Vicar-General  of  the 
Diocese.  He  was  appointed  in  1877  Bishop  of 
St.  Augustine,  succeeding  the  learned  and 
zealous  Dr.  Verot,  and  was  consecrated  by 
Bishop  Lynch  at  Charleston  on  May  13,  1877, 
and  at  his  consecration  Cardinal  Gibbons,  then 
Bishop  of  Richmond,  preached  the  sermon.  He 
proceeded  at  once  to  St.  Augustine,  and  on  the 
2oth  of  May  was  solemnly  installed  in  the  an 
cient  Cathedral  of  that  city.  He  has  labored 
severely  to  restore  the  ancient  shrines,  to  organ 
ize  the  Catholic  people  into  new  congregations 
and  to  serve  the  old  Spanish  and  Catholic  negro 
population.  A  new  Catholic  colony,  under  the 
leadership  of  Col.  Dunne,  with  church  and 
Benedictine  Convent,  has  been  founded  at  San 
Antonio,  Pasco  county.  He  established  a  fine 
brick  parochial  residence  and  library  at  Jackson 
ville,  built  a  massive  episcopal  residence  at  St. 
Augustine,  and  was  preparing  to  repair  the  ven 
erable  and  quaint  Cathedral  when  its  partial  de 
struction  by  fire  threw  upon  him  the  heavier  task 
of  almost  entirely  rebuilding  it.  After  assisting 
at  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore,  he 
travelled  in  the  United  States,  making  appeals 
for  means  to  rebuild  the  Cathedral,  and  for  the 
same  purpose  he  visited  Europe,  and  made  his 
pilgrimage  to  the  shrine  of  the  Apostles. 


(49) 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  J.   KAIN,  D.D. 

SECOND   BISHOP  OF  WHEELING,    WEST  VIRGINIA. 


ISHOP  KAIN  is  one  of 
the  most  active  and  la 
borious  of  our  prelates. 
He  was  born  on  May 
31,  1841,  at  Martins- 
burg,  Berkeley  county, 
West  Virginia  ;  his  par 
ents  were  both  from 
County  Cork,  Ireland, 
married  in  this  country, 
and  settled  at  Martinsburg.  He  first  studied  at 
a  Catholic  academy  at  Wilmington,  and  thence, 
in  order  to  prepare  for  the  priesthood,  he  entered 
the  preparatory  seminary  of  St.  Charles  in  1857 
and  graduated  there  in  1862.  He  next  entered 
St.  Mary's  College,  Baltimore,  where  he  made 
his  philosophy  and  theology,  and  was  ordained 
by  Archbishop  Spaulding  on  July  2,  1866.  His 
first  mission,  with  head-quarters  at  Harper's 
Ferry,  covered  the  valley  of  Virginia  from  the 
Potomac  to  Mount  Jackson,  and  for  some  time 
the  missionary  labors  of  the  young  priest  ex 
tended  to  eight  counties  in  West  Virginia  and 
four  in  Virginia.  It  was  much  later  when  he 
obtained  an  assistant  in  this  vast  and  arduous 


mission,  and  with  all  his  travels  and  labors  lie 
found  time  and  means  to  repair  the  churches  at 
Harper's  Ferry  and  Martinsburg,  greatly  injured 
during  the  war,  and  rebuilt  those  at  Winchester 
and  Berkeley  Springs,  which  had  been  destroyed. 
So  laborious  a  priest  should  be  a  bishop,  and  he 
was  accordingly  appointed  to  succeed  the  late 
Dr.  Whelau  as  Bishop  of  Wheeling,  and  was 
consecrated  by  Archbishop  Bayley  at  the  Balti 
more  Cathedral  on  May  2,  1875.  His  venerable 
mother,  then  at  the  age  of  eighty,  witnessed  his 
consecration.  He  entered  on  his  arduous  field  at 
once  ;  he  had  traversed  much  of  it  as  missionary. 
At  that  time  the  Diocese  contained  fifty-seven 
churches  and  chapels,  forty  or  more  stations,  and 
thirty-one  priests,  and  a  Catholic  population  of 
eighteen  thousand.  Now,  at  the  close  of  the 
year  1888,  under  his  energetic  administration, 
the  Diocese  possesses  thirty-five  priests,  one  hun 
dred  and  ten  churches,  stations  and  chapels,  and 
a  good  and  increasing  number  of  parochial  schools 
and  pupils.  He  took  part  in  the  Third  Plenary 
Council  of  Baltimore,  and  has  done  much  to  per 
fect  the  organization  and  successful  administra 
tion  of  the  Diocese  of  Wheeling. 


(5°) 


RIGHT  REV.   H.    P.   NORTHROP,   D.  D. 
Bishop  of  Charleston,  S.  C. 


RIGHT  REV.    ALFRED    A.   CURTIS,    D.  D. 

Bishop  of  Wilmington,  Del. 


RIGHT  REV.    LEO    HAID,    D.  D.,  O.  S.  B. 

Bishop  of  North  Carolina. 


RIGHT  REV.    A.    VAN    DE  VYVER,    D.  D. 

Bishop  of  Richmond,  Va. 


RIGHT  REV.   HENRY  PINCKNEY  NORTHROP,  D.D. 


SECOND  VICAR   APOSTOLIC  OF  NORTH   CAROLINA   AND   FOURTH   BISHOP   OF  CHARLESTON. 


ISHOP  NORTHROP  is 
a  native  of  South  Caro 
lina;  born  in  1841  at 
Charleston,  and  having 
made  his  elementary 
studies  there,  he  con 
tinued  his  academic 
course  at  Georgetown 
College  and  completed 
it  at  Mount  St.  Mary's, 

Emmittsburg.  At  the  last-named  institution  he 
embraced  the  priestly  vocation,  and  commenced 
there  his  ecclesiastical  studies  for  a  short  time 
only,  and  thence  proceeded  to  the  American  Col 
lege  at  Rome.  He  was  ordained  at  Rome,  but 
continued  there  to  pursue  some  higher  and 
special  studies  until  recalled  to  Carolina  by  his 
father's  death.  His  first  mission  was  at  Wil 
mington,  North  Carolina,  his  second  at  Newbern, 
and  his  third  at  Charleston  as  one  of  the  assist 
ants  at  the  cathedral.  From  the  cathedral  he  was 
made  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's  Church.  It  may  be 
truly  said  that  in  every  one  of  these  positions  he 
labored  earnestly,  unsparingly  and  intelligently. 


He  showed  good  business  capacity,  and  labored 
with  true  missionary  zeal.  In  1881  he  was  ap 
pointed  Vicar  Apostolic  of  North  Carolina,  and 
was  consecrated  at  the  Baltimore  Cathedral  by 
Archbishop  Gibbons,  on  January  8,  1882,  under 
the  title  of  Bishop  of  Rosalia.  A  year's  arduous 
work  in  the  missions  of  North  Carolina  showed 
his  fitness  for  responsible  trusts,  his  zeal  for  re 
ligion,  his  ripe  judgment  in  the  management  of 
affairs,  and  his  practical  knowledge  of  the  needs 
of  the  American  Church  and  of  the  way  to  meet 
them.  He  was  selected  to  succeed  Bishop  Lynch 
in  the  See  of  Charleston  and  was  translated  to 
that  See  by  brief  of  Pope  Leo  XIII.  dated  Janu 
ary  27,  1883.  He  retained  the  Vicariate  of  North 
Carolina.  He  repaired  to  Charleston  and  dis 
charged  the  difficult  and  laborious  duties  of  those 
two  offices  with  ability,  success  and  usefulness. 
He  has  sin~e  been  released  from  the  North  Car 
olina  Vicariate.  He  is  adding  to  his  priests, 
schools  and  institutions  ;  conversions  are  not  un- 
frequent,  and  religion  is  making  solid  progress  in 
a  field  difficult  to  till.  His  past  gives  promise 
of  still  greater  usefulness  in  the  Church. 


RIGHT  REV.  ALFRED  A.  CURTIS,  D.  D. 

SECOND  BISHOP  OF  WILMINGTON,    DELAWARE. 


HEN  conversions  were 
few  in  the  history 
of  the  Church  in 
America  Dr.  Cur- 
tis  gave  a  consol 
ing  example  of 
the  conviction  of 
a  well-trained  and 
educated  mind 
and  of  the  conver 
sion  of  a  sincere 
and  devout  soul.  He  was  born  about  the  year 
1833  in  Somerset  county,  on  the  Eastern  Shore 
of  Maryland.  After  receiving  a  fine  education, 
which  his  vigorous  intellect  well  digested  and 
stored  away,  and  which  his  industry  has  ever 
since  increased,  he  attracted  the  attention  and 
won  the  friendship  and  admiration  of  the  Prot 
estant  Episcopal  Bishop  Whittingham,  of  Mary 
land,  by  whom  he  was  ordained  in  the  Episcopal 
ministry  in  1859.  His  first  service  as  a  Prot 
estant  minister  was  at  Frederick,  Maryland,  and 
his  second  was  as  assistant  rector  of  St.  Luke's 
(High)  Church  in  Baltimore,  and  about  the  be 
ginning  of  1860  he  was  chosen  as  rector  of  the 
Ritualistic  Church  of  Mount  Calvary.  His  as 
sociations  and  life  in  the  Protestant  Church 
showed  the  logical  working  of  his  mind  towards 
Catholic  truth,  hampered,  however,  with  the  in 
fluences  of  education  and  social  ties.  Towards 
the  end  of  1870  he  resigned  his  position  at 
Mount  Calvary  Church,  feeling  no  longer  able 
to  hold  it  conscientiously,  and  in  February,  1871, 
he  went  to  England  and  conferred  frequently 
with  the  celebrated  Doctor,  now  Cardinal,  New 
man,  by  whom  he  was  received  into  the  Church 
in  April  of  that  year. 

After  his  return  to  Baltimore  he  entered  St. 
Mary's  Seminary  in  September,  1871,  to  prepare 
for  the  Catholic  priesthood.  His  previous  educa- 
catioti,  fine  attainments  and  clear  intellect  en 
abled  him  to  make  the  course  of  Catholic  theol 
ogy  with  comparative  ease,  but  he  made  it 
thoroughly.  He  was  ordained  by  Archbishop 
(52) 


Bayley,  another  convert  from  the  Episcopal  min 
istry,  in  December,  1874.  Archbishop  Bayley 
appointed  him  his  secretary  and  an  assistant 
priest  at  the  Cathedral,  in  which  capacity  he  ren 
dered  valuable  services.  As  a  pulpit  orator  he 
was  always  forcible,  and  displayed  in  his  sermons 
the  mastery  resulting  from  thorough  study  of 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  the  Fathers  and  dogmatic 
theolagy.  Dr.  Curtis  is  also  a  fine  scholar,  and 
is  one  of  the  best  Hebrew  scholars  in  America. 
But  his  virtues  surpassed  his  learning,  for  his 
charities  to  the  poor  in  the  Cathedral  parish,  his 
ministrations  to  the  sick  and  dying  and  his  love 
of  souls  have  caused  his  memory  to  be  cher 
ished  with  love  and  gratitude.  He  continued 
under  Archbishop  and  Cardinal  Gibbons  to  fill 
the  offices  of  secretary  and  assistant  rector 
of  the  Cathedral,  and  was  esteemed  as  highly 
by  the  latter  as  he  had  been  by  Archbishop 
Bayley. 

In  1886,  when  Bishop  Becker  was  translated 
from  the  See  of  Wilmington  to  that  of  Savan 
nah,  Father  Curtis  was  appointed  with  universal 
approbation  Bishop  of  Wilmington,  and  was 
consecrated  by  Cardinal  Gibbons  at  the  Cathedral 
of  Baltimore  on  November  14,  1886,  in  the 
presence  of  many  bishops  and  priests  and  an 
immense  concourse  of  the  laity,  large  delega 
tions  having  gone  on  from  Wilmington.  He 
was  escorted  to  Wilmington  by  Cardinal  Gib 
bons,  Bishop  Becker  and  other  prelates  and  by 
large  delegations  of  priests  and  laymen  from 
Baltimore  and  Wilmington  in  a  special  train,  and 
was  installed  at  Wilmington  in  St.  Peter's  Pro- 
cathedral  on  November  21,  by  Cardinal  Gibbons, 
with  solemn  ceremonies.  The  work  which 
Bishop  Curtis  has  accomplished  in  his  Diocese 
during  the  two  years  of  his  administration  gives 
a  bright  promise  for  the  future,  while  his  fine 
expositions  of  the  Catholic  religion  in  his  ser 
mons,  the  purity  and  refinement  of  his  life  and 
character,  and  his  good  example  and  charities, 
will  lead  many  to  abandon  their  prejudices 
against  the  Catholic  Church. 


RIGHT  REV.  LEO  HAID.  O.  S.  B..  D.  D. 


FOURTH   VICAR-APOSTOLIC  OF   NORTH  CAROLINA. 


MID  the  cloisters  of  St.  Bene 
dict  the  Church  has  found  a 
wise  and  zealous  ruler  for  a 
laborious  and  difficult  part  of 
the  Lord's  vineyard.  Leo 
Haid  was  born  in  the  country 
near  Latrobe,  Westmoreland 
county,  Pennsylvania,  on  July 
14,  1849.  Receiving  his  earliest  educa 
tion  at  the  school  of  the  village,  he  was 
sent  early  to  the  Benedictine  Abbey  of  St. 
Vincent.  Finishing  his  classical  course 
with  distinction,  he  entered  the  Order  of  St. 
Benedict  in  1872,  went  through  every  grade,  was 
professed  as  a  Benedictine  monk  and  ordained  in 
1872.  In  the  positions  of  professor  and  chaplain 
at  St.  Vincent's  Abbey  he  showed  marked  judg 
ment,  zeal  and  ability.  In  July,  1885,  he  was 
elected  Abbot  of  Mary  Help  Abbey,  near  Bel- 
mont,  Gastou  county,  North  Carolina.  He  was 
remarkable  for  the  amount  of  hard  work  he 
accomplished,  and  seemingly  with  ease.  His 
merits  were  recognized  by  all.  The  venerable  and 
Right  Rev.  Arch-Abbot  Boniface  Wimmer,  the 
Nestor  of  the  Order,  spoke  of  Father  Haid  as  a 
good  man,  a  good  monk  and  a  good  priest.  Con 
firmed  in  his  election  by  Pope  Leo  XIII.,  he  was 
consecrated  as  the  Right  Rev.  Abbot  of  St. 


Mary's  by  Bishop  Northrop  at  Charleston, 
South  Carolina,  on  November  26,  1888,  Thanks 
giving  Day.  Returning  a  mitred  Abbot  to  St. 
Mary's  Abbey,  he  was  received  with  universal 
joy.  He  became  a  benefactor  of  the  institution. 
A  new  impetus  was  given  to  every  work  and 
new  enterprises  started.  St.  Mary's  College  was 
languishing ;  under  his  energetic  administration 
the  number  of  students  so  rapidly  increased  that 
a  new  college  has  been  erected.  His  eloquence 
has  attracted  many  and  convinced  not  a  few, 
several  prominent  converts  having  been  led  by 
him  into  the  Church.  Traditional  prejudices  in 
North  Carolina  have  been  dispelled  by  his  able 
explanations.  The  poor  and  ignorant  negroes 
became  special  objects  of  his  zeal,  and  so  numer 
ous  have  been  the  conversions  among  them  that 
Dr.  Haid  has  erected  a  Church  and  School  of  St. 
Benedict  on  the  convent  grounds  for  them.  In 
1887  Pope  Leo  XIII.  appointed  this  zealous  and 
laborious  monk  Vicar  Apostolic  of  North  Caro 
lina,  his  predecessors  being  Cardinal  Gibbons, 
Bishop  Keane,  of  Richmond,  and  Bishop  North 
rop,  of  Charleston.  His  title  was  Bishop  of  Mes- 
sene.  His  administration,  already  commenced 
with  energy  and  enterprise,  promises  to  prove 
fruitful  of  great  good  throughout  the  State  of 
North  Carolina. 


,53) 


RIGHT  REV.  AUGUSTINE  VAN  DE  VYVER,  D.D., 


SIXTH    BISHOP   OF    RICHMOND. 


HILE  the  Diocese  of 
Richmond  was 
anticipating  the 
loss  of  its  Bishop, 
Right  Rev.  John 
J.  Keane,  who 
had  been  elected 
Rector  of  the 
American  Catho 
lic  University  at 
Washington,  the 
provident  forethought  of  Bishop  Keane  was 
training  and  preparing  as  his  successor  the 
Right  Rev.  Augustine  Van  de  Vyver,  by  ap 
pointing  him  first  his  Vicar-General  and  secondly 
as  administrator  of  the  Diocese.  Dr.  Van  de 
Vyver  was  born  at  Hoesdonk,  East  Flanders,  in 
Belgium,  in  December,  1845.  His  rudimentary 
instruction  having  been  received  in  his  native 
local  schools,  he  made  his  classical  course  and 
philosophical  studies  in  the  city  of  St.  Nicholas. 
At  an  early  age  he  embraced  not  only  the 
priestly  vocation,  but  resolved  also  on  dedicating 
himself  to  the  American  missions,  following  the 
example  of  such  distinguished  missionaries  as 
Fathers  Nerrinckx,  De  Smet,  Van  de  Velde, 
Lefevre,  and  many  others.  He  accordingly  en 
tered  the  American  College  of  Louvain,  which 
Archbishop  Spalding  and  Bishop  L,efevre  had 
been  so  instrumental  in  founding  to  prepare 
young  priests  for  the  American  missions.  He 
entered  this  famous  institution  in  1867,  com 
pleted  his  course  of  theology,  and  was  ordained 
a  priest  on  July  24,  1870,  at  Brussels,  by  Mon- 
signor  Cantani,  then  Papal  Nuncio  to  Belgium, 
in  his  private  chapel.  Having  been  accepted  by 


Bishop  McGill  for  the  Diocese  of  Richmond,  he 
came  to  that  city  in  1870,  and  was  appointed  an 
assistant  at  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Peter,  where  he 
served  faithfully  and  with  approbation  for  five 
years.  When  Rev.  John  J.  Kain  was  appointed 
Bishop  of  Wheeling,  Father  Van  de  Vyver  was 
sent  by  Cardinal  Gibbons,  then  Bishop  of  Rich 
mond,  to  attend  the  widely  scattered  and  numer 
ous  missions  of  that  region,  of  which  Harper's 
Ferry  was  the  centre.  For  six  years  he  labored 
with  such  zeal  and  devotion  in  this  laborious 
country  mission  as  to  endear  himself  to  Bishop, 
priests  and  people.  When  Father  Janssens  was 
appointed  Bishop  of  Natchez,  Father  Van  de 
Vyver  was  appointed  to  succeed  him  as  pastor 
of  the  Cathedral  by  Right  Rev.  John  J.  Keane, 
then  Bishop  of  Richmond.  He  was  soon  after 
wards  appointed  Vicar-General  of  the  Diocese. 
As  pastor  of  the  Cathedral  his  administration 
was  business-like  and  successful.  He  mastered 
the  English  language,  and  became  an  eloquent 
pulpit  orator.  When  Bishop  Keane  resigned  the 
Bishopric  of  Richmond  to  assume  the  rectorship 
of  the  American  Catholic  University,  Father  Van 
de  Vyver  was  first  made  administrator  of  the  Di 
ocese,  and  subsequently,  in  1889,  was  appointed 
by  the  Holy  See  Bishop  of  Richmond.  He  was 
consecrated  at  Richmond's  Cathedral  on  October 
20,  1889,  by  Cardinal  Gibbons,  in  the  presence 
of  numerous  Bishops  and  priests,  and  among  the 
countless  laity  present  were  Governor  and  Mrs. 
Fitzhugh  Lee,  the  Mayor  of  Richmond,  and 
many  of  the  civil,  military  and  naval  officials  at 
Richmond.  His  first  measures  and  methods 
give  assurances  of  a  successful  and  useful  ad 
ministration. 


<54) 


Interior  View  of  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  New  York. 


CHAPTER   III. 
PROVINCE  OF  NEW  YORK. 

History  of  the  Archdiocese  of  New  York,  and  the  Suffragan  Dioceses  Albany,  Buffalo,  Brooklyn,  Newark,  Rochester,  Ogdensburg, 

Trenton  and  Syracuse. 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  NEW  YORK. 


'HE  original  Diocese  of  New 
York  was  created  by  Papal 
Bulls  of  April  8,  1808,  and 
embraced  the  whole  State  of 
New  York  and  the  eastern 
part  of  the  State  of  New  Jer 
sey.  Before  this  it  was  a  part  of 
I  the  Diocese  of  Baltimore,  when  the 
latter  embraced  the  whole  United 
States.  Archbishop  Carroll,  while 
suggesting  nominations  for  the  other 
new  Sees,  suggested  to  the  Holy  Father  to  con 
fide  the  care  of  the  New  York  Diocese  to  the 
Bishop  of  Boston  until  time  was  given  for  finding 
an  acceptable  candidate.  But  the  Holy  See, 
probably  at  the  suggestion  of  Archbishop  Troy, 
of  Dublin,  appointed  Rev.  Richard  Luke  Can- 


canen,  a  distinguished  Dominican,  a  resident  of 
Rome  and  agent  for  the  Irish  Bishops.  He  had 
already  refused  two  Irish  Sees.  On  a  bed  of 
sickness  his  appointment  was  announced  to  him 
by  Cardinal  di  Pietro,  who  informed  him  that  the 
Pope  desired  him  to  accept,  and  thereupon  the 
Bishop-elect  made  his  submission.  He  was  con 
secrated  at  Rome  with  unusual  ceremony  at  the 
Church  of  the  Nuns  of  St.  Catharine ;  the  two 
assistant  prelates  were  Archbishops,  the  conse- 
crator  was  Cardinal  di  Pietro.  Though  still  fee 
ble  from  illness,  he  secured  for  his  new  Diocese 
a  large  number  of  donations  in  money  and 
church  outfit,  and  his  baggage  was  so  cumber 
some  as  to  retard  his  movements.  Leaving 
Rome,  in  order  to  secure  passage  on  an  Ameri 
can  vessel,  on  June  3,  1808,  he  reached  Leghorn, 

(55) 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  NEW   YORK. 


which  was  in  possession  of  the  French,  who 
seized  all  American  vessels  because  they  were 
visited  by  English  cruisers,  and  after  long  delays 
and  great  expense  he  returned  to  Rome,  leaving 
the  Papal  Bulls  creating  the  new  American  Sees 
and  making  Baltimore  a  metropolitan  See,  the 
pallium  for  Archbishop  Carroll,  and  documents, 
which  he  was  to  carry  to  America,  in  the  hands 
of  Messrs.  Filicchi,  to  forward  to  Archbishop 
Carroll.  Receiving  a  pension  from  the  Pope,  he 
remained  at  Rome,  officiating  frequently  as  a 
Bishop  when  needed.  In  April,  1810,  a  passport 
was  obtained  for  him ;  he  reached  Naples,  securing 
passage  on  a  vessel  bound  for  Salem,  Massachu 
setts.  At  the  last  moment  the  Board  of  Police 
made  some  objection  to  his  papers  and  his  de 
parture  was  again  prevented.  Disappointment 
prostrated  the  good  Bishop ;  he  was  taken  ill  with 
fever,  and  died  on  June  19,  1810,  at  the  Domini 
can  Convent  at  Naples.  Pius  VII.  was  then  a 
prisoner  of  Napoleon  and  Italy  was  in  the  posses 
sion  of  France.  In  December,  1808,  Archbishop 
Carroll,  in  virtue  of  a  letter  from  Bishop  Can- 
canen,  appointed  Rev.  Anthony  Kohlman  Vicar- 
General  of  New  York  and  pastor  of  St.  Peter's ; 
on  the  death  of  Bishop  Cancanen  he  was  ap 
pointed  Administrator  of  the  Diocese  of  New 
York.  Religion  made  good  progress  under  his 
pastoral  care ;  he  engaged  Bishop  Cheverus  to 
perform  all  episcopal  offices  for  the  Diocese,  and 
he  had  for  his  assistant  at  St.  Peter's  Rev.  Bene 
dict  Joseph  Fenwick,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Bos 
ton.  Upon  the  request  of  Bishop  Cancanen,  as 
it  was  understood  and  acquiesced  in  here,  the 
Holy  Father  had  consented  to  appoint  Rev.  Am 
brose  Marechal,  afterwards  Archbishop  of  Balti 
more,  as  Coadjutor  of  New  York ;  but  instead  of 
this  quite  a  different  appointment  was  made,  and 
this  time  again  at  the  suggestion  of  Archbishop 
Troy,  of  Dublin.  Fathers  Kohlman  and  Fen- 
wick  rendered  great  services  to  religion  in  New 
York,  whose  Catholic  population  was  sixteen 
thousand.  St.  Peter's  was  improved,  ground  was 
purchased  for  another  church,  and  on  June  8, 
1809,  the  corner-stone  was  laid  by  Fathers  Kohl 
man  and  Fenwick  with  great  ceremony.  At  the 
suggestion  of  Archbishop  Carroll  the  new  church 
was  called  St.  Patrick's.  Lots  in  front  of  St. 
Patrick's  were  purchased,  and  a  classical  school 
•was  opened  as  the  prelude  to  a  future  college  and 


called  New  York  Literary  Institution.  During 
their  pastoral  charge  Thomas  Paine,  the  philoso 
pher  and  atheist,  died  in  New  York ;  but  two 
weeks  before  his  death  he  consented  to  send  for 
Father  Fenwick,  in  the  hope  only  of  securing 
some  relief  from  his  bodily  sufferings.  Father 
Fenwick  responded  to  the  call,  and  was  accom 
panied  by  Father  Kohlman.  When  the  unhappy 
man  perceived  that  these  pious  priests  came  only 
for  the  good  of  his  soul,  he  ordered  them  from  his 
presence  as  he  had  done  with  several  Protestant 
ministers  before ;  he  died  in  utter  despair.  In 
March,  1813,  Father  Kohlman  was  summoned 
as  a  witness  to  court  in  a  case  involving  a  ques 
tion  of  stolen  goods.  He  was  questioned  as  to 
matters  of  which  he  knew  nothing  except  in  the 
confessional,  and  respectfully  refused  to  answer. 
It  was  a  test  case  of  great  importance,  and  the 
points  of  law  were  argued  in  court  for  two  months 
and  greatly  discussed  in  the  newspapers.  On 
June  14,  1813,  Mayor  DeWitt  Clinton,  President 
of  the  Court  of  General  Sessions,  rendered  the 
decision  of  the  court  that  a  priest  could  not  be 
questioned  as  to  matters  only  known  to  him 
through  his  ministry.  The  new  St.  Patrick's 
Cathedral  was  dedicated  by  Bishop  Cheverus. 

In  April,  1813,  three  Ursuline  nuns  arrived 
in  New  York  from  Blackrock  Convent  in  Ireland 
and  were  invited  over  by  Father  Kohlman,  who 
had  them  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  New 
York,  on  March  26,  1814,  and  located  them  in 
their  convent  near  Third  avenue  and  Fiftieth 
street.  In  1815,  finding  few  postulants  to  join 
their  order  and  inadequate  patronage  for  their 
schools,  they  returned  in  1815  to  Ireland.  An 
other  religious  order,  the  Trappists,  who  had 
been  testing  their  success  in  other  parts  of  the 
country,  reunited  all  their  members  in  New  York, 
where  their  Superior,  Dom  Augustine,  purchased 
a  considerable  property,  founded  a  Trappist  Ab 
bey,  and  attended  the  Ursuline  Convent.  Nuns 
of  the  same  order  came  to  New  York.  Not 
meeting  with  success,  the  Trappist  institutions 
in  New  York  were  relinquished  and  the  monks 
and  nuns  returned  to  France  in  1814.  During 
a  portion  of  this  period  Father  Fenwick  also 
acted  as  Vicar-General. 

While  the  appointment  of  Dr.  Marechal  as 
Bishop  of  New  York  was  expected,  Archbishop 
Troy,  of  Dublin,  exerting  his  singular  influence 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  NEW  YORK. 


57 


in  American  affairs,  secured  the  appointment  of 
another  Dominican,  Rev.  John  Connelly,  Supe 
rior  of  the  Irish   Convent  of  St.  Clements,  at 
Rome.      The   war   then    existing    between   the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain  prevented  Dr. 
Connelly,  who  was  a  British  subject,  from  coming 
to  his  See.     Bishop  Connelly  was  consecrated  at 
Rome  on  November  6,  1814,  and,  in  the  fall  of 
1815,  he  arrived  unannounced  at  New  York.    He 
brought  with  him  Rev.  Michael  O'Gorman,  whom 
he  ordained    during  his  visit  to  Ireland.     The 
Ursiilines    and    Trappists   had    gone;    Fathers 
Kohlmann  and  Fenwick  were  recalled  to  Mary 
land.       The  new  Bishop  found  his  Diocese  in 
a  forlorn  condition.      He  meekly  assumed  the 
burden  of  the  missionary  work  of  the  city,  with 
the   assistance   of  Rev.    Peter  Malou.      Bishop 
Connelly  sent  Father  O'Gorman  to  Albany,  and 
he  at  the  age  of  seventy  undertook  to  organize 
his  Diocese,  which  embraced  all  New  York  and 
part -of  New  Jersey,  with  a  Catholic  population 
of  thirteen  thousand,  two  churches  at  New  York 
and  one  at  Albany,  and  with  only  two  priests. 
Confiding  the  Northern  Missions  of  the  State  of 
New  York  to  Father  O'Gorman,   Bishop  Con 
nelly,  with  the  later  assistance  of  Rev.  M.  Shan- 
ahan,  attended  to  the  mission's  of  the   South. 
During  his  administration  St.  Patrick's  Cathe 
dral  Cemetery  was  acquired  and  consecrated  by 
him   in    August,    1824.     In  1817  he  secured  as 
priests  of  the  Diocese  Rev.  Arthur  Langdill,  and 
in   1818  Rev.   Charles  D.  Ffrench,  and  besides 
Mr.  O'Gormau  he  ordained  Rev.  Richard  Bul 
ger  in  1820,  Rev.  Patrick  Kelley  in  1821,  Rev. 
Charles  Brennan  in   1822,  Rev.  John  Shanahan 
in  1823,  Rev.  John  Conroy  in  1824.     He  intro 
duced  the  Sisters  of  Charity  in  1817;  founded 
the  Orphan  Asylum,  which  was  incorporated  in 
1817,  under  the  title  of  "  The  New  York  Catho 
lic  Benevolent  Society  ;  "  and,  1823,  he  had  eight 
priests   in  .the    Diocese.      During   the    cholera 
year  of  1822  his  charities  and  personal  ministra 
tions  to  all  denominations  were  heroic.     Several 
new  churches  were  erected,  including  St.  John's 
at  Utica,  and  St.  Patrick's  at  Rochester.      One 
priest,  Rev.  Mr.  Shanahan,  served  at  Newark ; 
two,  Rev.   Michael  Carroll    and  John   Farnan, 
served  what  is  now  the  whole  Diocese  of  Albany. 
Brooklyn  had  no  priest,  and  was,  in  1823,  visited 
for    the    first   time    by    Rev.    Mr.    Shanahan. 


Bishop   Connelly,    spent   with   age   and    severe 
labor,  died  at  New  York,  February  6,  1825. 

Rev.  John  Power  was  Administrator  of  New 
York  until  the  latter  part  of  1826;  the  Presby 
terian  Church  in  Sheriff  street  in  1826  became 
St.  Mary's.  Dr.  Power  erected  the  present  mas 
sive  Church  of  St.  Peter's. 

In  1826  New  York  received  its  third  Bishop, 
Right  Rev.  John  Du  Bois,  who  was  consecrated 
at  the  Baltimore  Cathedral  by  Archbishop  Mare- 
chal,  October  26,  1826,  and  was  installed  at  St. 
Patrick's  Cathedral,  New  York,  November  9. 
New  York  city  then  possessed  three  churches, 
six  priests  and  thirty-five  thousand  Catholics. 
Though  sixty  years  old  Bishop  Du  Bois  per 
formed  severe  missionary  work,  and  soon  made 
a  visitation  of  his  large  Diocese,  arranging  at  Al 
bany  for  a  new  church.  At  Buffalo  he  acquired 
land  for  St.  Louis'  Church,  and  extended  his 
visit  to  the  Indian  village  of  St.  Regis  and  to  all 
parts  of  the  Diocese.  He  went  to  France  in 
October,  1829  ;  obtained  from  the  Society  for  the 
Propagation  of  the  Faith  a  considerable  donation, 
which  enabled  him  to  help  the  Catholics  of  Al 
bany  in  building  their  church  and  to  redeem  the 
Newark  Church,  then  on  the  point  of  being  sacri 
ficed.  Land  near  Nyack  was  purchased  for  a 
college,  and  the  Bishop  laid  the  corner-stone  on 
May  29,  1833.  The  torch  was  applied  to  the  col 
lege  by  religious  fanatics  and  the  college  was  in 
ashes.  A  site  was  offered  for  the  college  in 
Brooklyn  but  could  not  be  accepted. 

St.  Mary's  Church  was  rebuilt  in  1832-33, 
and  dedicated  to  divine  service.  Christ's  Episco 
pal  Church  in  Ann  street  was  purchased  and 
converted  into  a  Catholic  church,  but  was  subse 
quently,  in  1833,  replaced  by  St.  James'  in 
James  street.  In  1833  the  corner-stone  of  St. 
Joseph's  was  laid,  and,  in  March,  1834,  was 
blessed  and  opened  for  divine  service.  A  Catholic 
burial-ground  was  established  in  December,  1833, 
in  Eleventh  street  between  Avenue  A  and  First 
avenue.  The  German  Catholics  bought  a  lot  in 
Second  street  between  First  avenue  and  Avenue 
A,  and  there  the  old  Church  of  St.  Nicholas  was 
erected,  with  Rev.  Mr.  Raffeiner  as  pastor,  who, 
in  1839,  erected  the  old  Church  of  St.  John  the 
Baptist  in  Thirteenth  street.  In  1835  St. 
Paul's  Church  in  Eighty-fourth  street  was  built 
by  Father  Michael  Currau,  and  in  1836  Trans- 


ARCHDIOCESE   OF  NEW  YORK. 


figuration  Church  was  opened  with  Very  Rev.  Fe 
lix  Varela  as  pastor.  Bishop  Du  Bois  laid  the  cor 
ner-stone  October  26.  On  February  28, 1838,  the 
church  was  blessed  by  Bishop  Hughes  and  opened 
for  service. 

In  1837,  in  consequence  of  the  declining 
health  of  Bishop  Du  Bois,  Rev.  John  Hughes  was 
appointed,  at  his  request,  coadjutor.  The  Bishop 
consecrated  his  coadjutor  at  the  New  York 
Cathedral  on  January  9,  1838.  In  1839,  in  con 
sequence  of  Bishop  Du  Bois'  infirm  health,  the 
Holy  See  relieved  him  of  the  diocesan  adminis 
tration,  and  appointed  Bishop  Hughes  adminis 
trator.  The  Sisters  of  Charity  from  Emmitts- 
burgh  came  to  New  York  in  1830,  and  opened 
an  academy,  and  afterwards  a  second  one  in  the 
Seventh  Ward.  The  latter  was  the  beginning 
from  which  grew  Mt.  St.  Vincent's.  Bishop 
Du  Bois  died  December  20,  1842,  and  was  suc 
ceeded  by  Bishop  Hughes. 

One  of  the  early  triumphs  of  ecclesiastical 
discipline  in  New  York  under  Bishop  Hughes 
was  his  struggle  with  the  trustees  of  St.  Peter's 
Church,  and  his  final  overthrow  of  trusteeism. 
Five  churches  out  of  eight,  through  trustee  mis 
management,  became  bankrupt,  were  sold  under 
the  sheriff's  hammer,  and  purchased  in  his  own 
name  by  Archbishop  Hughes.  After  herculean 
efforts  he  discharged  the  indebtedness  of  St. 
Peter's,  amouiitingto  $140,000,  though  not  legally 
obliged  to  do  so,  and  the  event  was  celebrated 
with  a  Te  Deum  in  the  church. 

One  of  Bishop  Hughes'  first  works  was  the 
establishment  of  St.  John's  College,  Fordham, 
for  which  he  purchased  in  October,  1839,  the 
Rose  Hill  estate,  which  became  historic  ground 
in  the  Revolutionary  War,  for  $30,000,  and  fit 
ting  up  the  buildings  for  the  reception  of  stu 
dents  at  a  cost  of  $10,000.  After  issuing  a  Pas 
toral,  urging  this  work  on  the  generosity  of  the 
people,  he  sailed  for  Europe,  and  after  obtaining 
a  liberal  donation  for  the  college  from  the  Leo- 
poldine  Society  at  Vienna,  and  obtaining  at 
Paris  a  colony  of  Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart  to 
found  a  school  in  New  York,  he  returned  home 
in  July,  1840. 

The  public  school  question  had  arisen  during 
Bishop  Hughes'  absence,  and  he  found  the  city 
and  State  much  agitated  on  the  subject.  Mr. 
Seward,  Governor  of  the  State  of  New  York,  in 


his  message  to  the  Legislature  on  January  i, 
1840,  recommended  Dr.  Knott's  plan  of  congre 
gational  schools.  The  system  established  by 
law  in  1840  intrusted  the  school  funds,  amount 
ing  to  $130,000  annually,  to  the  Public  School 
Society.  The  Catholic  schools  had  received 
some  share  of  the  fund ;  but  the  society  pro 
fessed  to  conduct  the  system  on  non-sectarian 
principles.  Catholics  were  practically  cut  off 


Most  Rev.  John  Hughes,  D.  D.,  First  Archbishop  of  New  York. 

from  all  benefit  of  the  fund  for  which  they  were 
taxed,  and  it  was  soon  discovered  that  the  society 
had  introduced  or  tolerated  sectarianism  in  the 
schools.  Catholics  demanded  that,  as  the  public 
schools  were  such  that  they  could  not  conscien 
tiously  send  their  children  to  them,  either  the 
Catholic  schools  should  receive  their  share  of  the 
school  fund,  or  Catholics  be  exempt  from  paying 
taxes  for  the  support  of  schools  in  violation  of 
their  consciences  and  of  their  civil  rights. 
Bishop  Hughes  at  once  became  the  champion  of 
the  Catholic  cause.  He  attended  and  addressed 
the  public  meetings,  insisting  upon  driving  out 
of  the  movement  the  selfish  politicians,  even  of 
his  own  faith,  who  were  availing  themselves  of 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  NEW  YORK. 


59 


the  agitation  for  their  own  purposes.  He 
brought  the  school  question  before  the  Board  of 
the  Common  Council.  Both  sides  were  heard.  The 
Public  School  Society  opposed  the  petition  of  the 
Catholics  by  their  counsel ;  Rev.  Doctors  Bond, 
Bangs  and  Reese  opposed  it  for  the  Methodists, 
Rev.  Dr.  Spring  for  the  Presbyterians,  and  Rev. 
Dr.  Knox  for  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church. 
These  gentlemen  actually  placed  themselves  in 
the  attitude  of  preferring  that  Methodist,  Pres 
byterian  and  Dutch  Reformed  children  should 
be  educated  without  religion,  rather  than  be 
educated  as  Christians  each  in  their  own  relig 
ion,  because,  if  they  accepted  the  latter  advan 
tage,  Catholics  would  enjoy  the  same ;  for  the 
Catholics  demanded  nothing  for  themselves 
which  they  did  not  concede  to  all  others.  The 
petition  was  rejected  on  January  12,  1841,  and  the 
Catholics,  headed  by  Bishop  Hughes,  appealed 
to  the  Legislature.  This  led  to  the  introduction 
of  a  bill  by  Mr.  Spencer  creating  the  Board  of 
Public  School  Commissioners,  and  making  the 
schools  non-sectarian.  Seeing  that  they  could 
not  successfully  carry  the  denominational  sys 
tem,  the  Catholics  supported  the  Spencer  bill. 
The  Protestants  thereupon  opposed  the  very 
school  system  which  they  now  regard  as  "  the 
palladium  of  our  liberties}'1  The  question  went 
over  to  the  Legislature  of  1842,  when  Governor 
Seward  again,  in  the  annual  message,  advocated 
a  just  system  of  public  schools.  But  the  elec 
tion  in  the  fall  of  1841,  which  sent  the  members 
to  the  new  Legislature,  turned  upon  the  Spencer 
bill,  Catholics  ran  their  own  candidates,  and, 
though  defeated,  they  polled  two  thousand  two 
hundred  votes. 

The  Seminary  was  removed  from  Lafargeville 
to  Fordham  in  the  autumn  of  1840.  The  col 
lege  was  opened  in  June,  1841.  In  April,  1846, 
the  college  was  chartered  by  the  Legislature 
with  university  faculties,  and,  in  July  of  the 
same  year,  was  placed  in  care  of  the  Jesuits.  In 
1841  the  ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart  arrived  from 
Europe,  and  founded  their  first  school ;  in  1846 
the  Sisters  of  Mercy  came  and  established  their 
first  home.  What  contrasts  these  humble  be 
ginners  were  to  the  grand  institutions  of  educa 
tion  and  charity  now  conducted  by  those  relig 
ious  communities.  The  "No  Popery"  cry  and 
Know-nothingism  extended  to  New  York  in 


1844  ;  the  Kensington  riots,  outrages  and  sacri 
leges  of  Philadelphia  might  have  been  repeated 
in  New  York  but  for  the  brave  and  prompt 
action  of  Bishop  Hughes  and  his  people. 

In    1844    the    Diocese    had  so    increased  in 
churches,  institutions   and   labors  that   Bishop 
Hughes  obtained  a  co-adjutor  in  Rev.  John  Me- 
Closkey,    afterwards    Cardinal    Archbishop    of 
New   York.     In    1845    Bishop   Hughes  visited 
Europe,  and   on   his    return   represented    New 
York  Diocese  in  the  Sixth  Council  of  Baltimore, 
which  divided  the  Diocese,  with  the  concurrence 
of  the  Holy  See,  by  erecting  the   Diocese  of 
Albany,  with  Dr.  McCloskey  as  its  Bishop,  and 
the  Diocese  of  Buffalo,  with  the  Lazarist  Father 
John  Timon  as  Bishop.     In  1853  the  Diocese  of 
Newark   was   erected,    and    Rev.  James   Roose 
velt  Bayley  appointed  Bishop.     In   1846-7  the 
Sisters  of  Charity  in  New  York  Diocese    were 
organized  into  a  community  separate  from  the 
mother  community  of  Emmittsburg,  with  per 
mission  to  those  who  so  desired  to  return  to  Em 
mittsburg.     In   1847  Bishop  Hughes,  upon  the 
invitation  of  distinguished  members  of  Congress, 
such  as  John  Quincy  Adams,  John  C.  Calhoun, 
Thomas  H.  Benton,  and  others,  preached  a  mas 
terly  sermon  in  the  House  of  Representatives  at 
Washington.     In  May,    1849,  upon  the  recom 
mendation  of  the  Seventh  Council  of  Baltimore, 
the  Diocese  of  New  York  was  raised  to  an  Archi- 
episcopal  See,  with  the  Bishops  of  Boston,  Hart 
ford,  Albany  and    Buffalo   as    suffragans,    and 
Archbishop  Hughes,  now  promoted  to  the  archi- 
episcopal  dignity,  received  the  pallium  from  the 
hands  of  the  Holy  Father  himself  at  Rome,  on 
April  3,  1851.     In  1853  Monsignor  Bedini,  Pa 
pal  Nuncio  to  Brazil,  visited  this  country,  and 
was  for  a  time  the  guest  of  Archbishop  Hughes. 
Having  visited  Rome  in  1854,  among  the  prel 
ates  consulted  by  Pius  IX.  in  reference  to  de 
fining  the  dogma  of  the  Immaculate  Conception, 
on  his  return  the  Church  of  the    Immaculate 
Conception  was  commenced,  and  was  solemnly 
consecrated  on  May   15,   1858.     This  was    the 
ninety-ninth  church  erected  and  dedicated  under 
his  administration.     In  1858  it  was  reported  that 
New  York  Diocese  was  a  rival  of  Baltimore  in 
the  expected  creation  of  a  primacy  in  the  United 
States.     Archbishop    Hughes   himself  wrote  to 
Rome  requesting  the  preference  to  be  given  to 


6o 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  NEW   YORK. 


Baltimore.  The  Holy  See  contented  itself  with 
conferring  on  Baltimore  a  prerogative  of  place 
and  honor.  When  the  American  College  at 
Rome  was  founded,  the  New  York  Diocese 


Pius  IX. 

raised  a  fund  equal  to  the  support  of  seven  eccle 
siastics  in  the  College. 

The  corner-stone  of  the  grand  Cathedral  of 
St.  Patrick  on  Fifth  avenue  was  laid  by  Arch 
bishop  Hughes  on  August  15,  1858,  with  the 
most  imposing  ceremonies.  In  1859  the  Diocese 
of  New  York,  its  Bishop  and  people,  manifested 
great  sympathy  for  the  Holy  Father,  Pius  IX., 
in  his  sufferings,  and  the  collection  of  Peter's 
pence  amounted  to  fifty-three  thousand  dollars. 
In  1862  was  founded  the  Theological  Seminary 
at  Troy.  During  several  years  Archbishop 
Hughes  suffered  with  failing  health,  and  yet  his 
energy  was  uudiminished.  He  died  January  3, 
1864,  and  was  buried  under  old  St.  Patrick's 
Cathedral.  Since  then  the  remains  of  all  prel 
ates  of  the  Diocese  who  had  been  buried  at  old 
St.  Patrick's  were  removed  to  the  new  Cathedral. 
During  his  administration  four  new  Dioceses 
had  been  created  in  the  original  Diocese  of  New 
York,  the  Jesuits,  Redemptorists  and  Christian 


Brothers  had  been  received,  the  Colleges  of 
St.  Francis  Xavier,  St.  John  and  Manhattan 
erected,  the  new  congregation  of  St.  Paul  the 
Apostle  organized,  the  Ladies  of  the  Sacred 
Heart,  Sisters  of  Mercy,  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame, 
and  Sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  brought  in  ; 
and  the  New  York  Catholic  Protectory,  under 
the  presidency  of  Dr.  Levi  Silliman  Ives,  incor 
porated  and  put  in  operation,  and  one  hundred 
churches  erected. 

The    Archdiocese    of  New  York,  on  May  6, 

1864,  passed  under  the  administration   of  Most 
Rev.  John  McCloskey,  then  Bishop  of  Albany. 
That  great  institution,  the  New  York  Catholic 
Protectory,  was  then  in  its  infancy.     On  June  7, 

1865,  the  farm  at  West  Chester  was  purchased. 
The   great   fair  of  Union  .Square  was    opened 
May  20,  1867,  and  closed  on  June  21,  yielding 
$100,000,  net.     The  work  on  the  new  Cathedral, 
which  had  been  suspended  during  the  war,  was 
resumed  and  completed,  with  the  exception  of 
the  towers  and  sacristy,  and  solemnly  dedicated, 
with  an  attendance  of  prelates,  priests  and  lay 
men  never  equalled  before  at  any  church  dedi 
cation  in  this  country.     The  episcopal  and  paro 
chial  residences  of  white  marble  were  also  erected 
back  of  the  Cathedral.     The  houses  of  the  Fran 
ciscan  Fathers,  Capuchins,  Dominicans,  Brothers 
of  the  Society  of  Mary,  Franciscan  Brothers,  the 
Ursuliues,    the    Missionary    Sisters,   the   Third 
Order  of  St.  Francis,  the  School  Sisters  of  Notre 
Dame,  Sisters  of  St.  Dominick,  the  Sisters  Ma- 
rianites  of  the  Holy  Cross,  Sisters  of  the  Poor 
of  St.  Francis,  the  Presentation  Nuns,  Sisters 
of  Christian  Charity,  Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor, 
Sisters  of  Bon  Secours,  and  the  Sisters  of  St. 
Francis,  are  among  the  additions  made  to  the 
Diocese  in  this  administration.     The  Foundling 
Asylum  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  of  which  Sis 
ter  Irene  was  the  foundress,  the  homes  and  hos 
pitals  of  the  Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor,  the  Mis 
sion  of  the  Immaculate  Virgin,  with  its  fine  in 
stitutions  in  Lafayette  Place  and  on  Staten  Isl 
and,    of    which     Father     Drumgoole    was    the 
founder,  the  Association  for  Befriending  Chil 
dren  and  Young  Girls,  of  which  Mrs.  Starr  is  the 
foundress  and  Right  Rev.  Thomas  S.  Preston 
the  ecclesiastical  superior,  the  foundress  and  her 
companions  being  now  known  as  the   Sisters  of 
the  Divine  Compassion,  and  St.  Joseph's  Insti- 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  NEW  YORK. 


61 


tute,  for  the  improved  instruction  of  deaf  mutes, 
are  among  the  noble  works  that  have  sprung 
up  in  New  York  during  the  same  period.  The 
churches  in  the  Diocese  reached  the  number  of 
one  hundred  and  seventy -six,  chapels  sixty,  sta- 


Right  Rev.  Thos.  S.  Preston. 


tions  thirty-eight,  secular  priests  two  hundred 
and  eighty-three,  and  regulars  one  hundred  and 
nineteen  ;  the  total  number  of  priests  four  hun 
dred  and  two,  brothers  three  hundred  and  nine, 
and  religious  women  nearly  two  thousand.  The 
Catholic  population,  greatly  increased  by  immi 
gration,  reached  six  hundred  thousand. 

The  Archdiocese  of  New  York  was  the  first 
American  Diocese  whose  Bishop  was  ever  raised 
to  the  Cardinalate.  Pope  Pius  IX.  created  Arch 
bishop  McCloskey  a  Cardinal  priest,  with  the 
title  of  Santa  Maria  Supra  Minervam,  on  March 
15,  1875.  The  presentation  of  the  Papal  Briefs 
and  of  the  red  beretta,  and  of  the  zuchetto,  or 
red  skull-cap,  took  place  at  the  Cardinal's  resi 
dence  on  April  yth,  and  the  investirure  of  the 


Cardinal  with  the  beretta  and  insignia  of  the 
cardinalate  took  place  in  the  old  Cathedral  of  St. 
Patrick  on  April  27th.  On  the  death  of  Pope 
Pius  IX.,  in  1878,  an  American  Cardinal  for 
the  first  time  was  summoned  and  started  to  sit 
in  conclave  for  the  election  of  a  new  Pope.  He 
arrived  after  the  election  of  Pope  Leo  XIII. 
He  received  from  the  new  Pope  the  Cardinal's 
hat  and  ring,  which  are  never  conferred  out 
side  of  Rome. 

While  in  Rome  he  took  formal  possession  of 
his  titular  Church  of  Santa  Maria  Supra  Mi 
nervam.  The  dedication  of  the  new  Cathedral 
took  place  on  May  25,  1879.  On  December  8, 
1873,  the  entire  Diocese  of  New  York  was  dedi- 


Cardiual  McCloskey. 

cated  by  Archbishop  McCloskey  to  the  Sacred 
Heart  of  Jesus.  The  first  American  Catholic  pil 
grimage  took  place  in  1874.  The  Catholic  Union 
was  formed  for  the  defence  of  Catholic  rights, 
and  the  Xavier  Union,  now  the  Catholic  Club, 


62 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  NEW   YORK. 


was  also  organized  in  this  administration.  In 
consequence  of  Cardinal  McCloskey's  infirm 
health,  he  requested  and  obtained  a  co-adjutor. 
Right  Rev.  Michael  Augustine  Corrigan,  Bishop 
of  Newark,  the  Cardinal's  choice,  was  made 
Archbishop  of  Petrea  and  co-adjutor  of  New 
York,  with  the  right  of  succession,  on  October 
i,  1880.  From  this  time  to  the  death  of  Cardi 
nal  McCloskey,  which  occurred  on  October  i, 
1885,  the  episcopal  functions  and  labors  in  the 
Diocese  were  performed  by  the  co-adjutor.  Dur 
ing  the  co-adjutorship  the  Fourth  Provincial 
Council  of  New  York  and  the  Fourth  Diocesan 
Synod  were  held  and  presided  over  by  the  Most 
Rev.  Co-adjutor,  and  in  the  Third  Plenary  Coun 
cil  of  Baltimore  the  Diocese  of  New  York  and 
its  Cardinal  Archbishop  was  represented  by  him. 
The  improvement  in  the  Diocese  of  New 
York  in  all  its  works  and  appointments  has 
been  marked  during  the  administration  of  Arch 
bishop  Corrigan  ;  regularity  and  discipline  have 
been  established  or  increased  in  all  its  depart 
ments.  Efforts  have  been  made  to  provide  for 
the  deaf  mutes  ;  a  diocesan  theological  seminary 
has  been  announced ;  land  provided  and  funds 
partially  provided  or  collected  for  its  erection ; 
and  land  acquired  for  the  Dominican  Sisters  of 
the  Perpetual  Adoration,  under  Rev.  Mother 


Mary  of  Jesus,  foundress  of  the  Newark  Con 
vent  and  of  the  order  in  America.  The  beauti 
ful  towers  of  the  Cathedral  have  been  completed. 

The  Church  has  made  rapid  progress  in  the 
Diocese  of  New  York  during  Archbishop  Cor- 
rigan's  administration :  the  churches  number 
one  hundred  and  ninety ;  chapels,  sixty,  and 
stations,  forty-two ;  priests,  four  hundred  and 
seventy-nine ;  brothers,  four  hundred ;  sisters, 
two  thousand  one  hundred  and  eighty-two ; 
parochical  schools,  one  hundred  and  fifty-seven, 
and  Catholic  population,  eight  hundred  thousand. 

On  Febuary  20,  1889,  the  first  American  pil 
grimage  to  the  Holy  Land  sailed  from  New 
York  under  the  guidance  of  Very  Rev.  Charles  A. 
Vissani,  commissariat  of  the  Holy  Land  of  the 
Order  of  St.  Francis  in  New  York.  The  pil 
grims,  numbering  more  than  a  hundred,  assisted 
at  Mass  at  the  New  York  Cathedral  on  the 
morning  of  the  2oth,  and  were  feelingly  ad 
dressed  and  speeded  on  their  pilgrimage  by 
Archbishop  Corrigan.  Among  their  number 
were  Bishop  Wigger,  of  Newark,  who  said  the 
Mass,  Bishop  Rademacher,  of  Nashville,  Mon- 
signori  Seton  and  Doane,  of  New  Jersey,  and 
several  other  priests,  and  about  one  hundred  lay 
gentlemen  and  ladies.  The  pilgrims  have  re 
turned  home  with  many  blessings. 


St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  New  York. 


DIOCESE  OF  ALBANY, 


DIOCESE  OF  ALBANY. 


THE  Diocese  of  Albany  was  erected  by  the 
Holy  See  in  1847,  and  was  then  bounded  on  the 
north  and  east  by  the  limits  of  the  State  of  New 
York,  extended  south  to  the  forty-second  degree 
of  north  latitude,  and  west  to  the  eastern  limits 
of  Cayuga,  Tompkins  and  Tioga  counties.  This 
vast  territory  is  now  the  seat  of  several  Epis 
copal  Sees,  embraced  the  territories  that  had 


Cathedral  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  Albany,  N.  Y. 

been  sanctified  by  the  early  missions  along  our 
northern  borders  and  the  famous  Iroquois  mis 
sions,  was  the  scene  of  early  martyrdoms,  in 
cluding  those  of  Father  Jogues  and  Rene  Goupil, 
and  was  the  birthplace  and  long  the  home  of 
the  saintly  Indian  virgin,  Catharine  Tegakouita. 
Few  parts  of  our  republic  have  so  heroic  and 
interesting  a  Catholic  history. 

In  and  about  Albany  proper,  prior  to  the 
Revolution,  Catholicity  had  scarcely  a  resting- 
place.  The  earliest  church  in  Albany  was 
erected  in  1798,  under  the  zealous  efforts  of 


Rev.  John  Thayer,  a  convert  to  the  faith  from 
Boston.  Fathers  Burke  and  Kohlmann,  Rev. 
Mr.  McQuaid,  Rev.  Michael  O'Gorman,  Rev. 
Michael  Carroll,  in  1822,  were  successively  the 
pastors  at  Albany.  The  city  was  blessed  in 
1830  by  the  advent  of  the  Sisters  of  Char 
ity,  who  conducted  the  schools  and  orphan 
asylum.  Churches  were  built  in  other  parts 
of  the  Diocese,  at  Carthage,  Utica,  Verona, 
Oneida,  Florence,  Constableville,  Salina, 
Schenectady,  Sandy  Hill,  Binghamton,  Sara 
toga  and  other  places.  Right  Rev.  John  Mc- 
Closkey,  co-adjutor  of  Archbishop  Hughes  of 
New  York,  afterwards  the  first  American  Cardi 
nal,  was  appointed  first  Bishop  of  Albany  in 
1847,  and  at  that  time  Albany  possessed  four 
churches,  one  of  which,  St.  Mary's,  became  his 
Cathedral.  In  the  remainder  of  the  Diocese 
there  were  about  forty  churches,  but  there  were 
not  priests  enough  to  give  each  church  a  pastor. 
Bishop  McCloskey's  administration  was  emi 
nently  successful,  as  was  evidenced  by  the  rapid 
and  wonderful  increase  of  churches  and  priests, 
schools,  academies,  asylums  and  other  works  of 
the  Church.  In  1864  Bishop  McCloskey  became 
Archbishop  of  New  York,  and  left  to  the  Albany 
Diocese  as  the  fruits  of  his  labors  and  of  his 
clergy  and  people,  one  hundred  and  thirteen 
churches,  eight  chapels  and  fifty  stations, 
eighty-five  priests,  and  the  Diocese  had  received 
the  Augustinians,  Franciscans  and  Oblates  of 
Mary  Immaculate  ;  also  the  Ladies  of  the  Sacred 
Heart,  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  Christian  Brothers, 
Sisters  of  Charity,  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  the 
Canadian  Gray  Nuns,  and  Sisters  of  the  Third 
Order  of  St.  Francis. 

Bishop  McCloskey  was  succeeded  by  his 
Vicar-General,  Right  Rev.  John  Joseph  Conroy, 
who  administered  the  Diocese  until  July  7,  18615, 
when  he  was  appointed  Bishop.  He  was  conse 
crated  on  October  15,  1865.  He  introduced  an 
industrial  school,  St.  Peter's  Hospital,  St.  Agnes' 
Rural  Cemetery,  increased  the  priests,  churches, 
schools  and  institutions  of  the  Diocese,  and  in 
troduced  the  Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor.  In  Au 
gust,  1869,  the  Diocesan  Synod  was  celebrated. 


ARCHDIOCESE   OE  NEW  YORK. 


In  1872  a  co-adjutor  to  Bishop  Conroy  was  ap 
pointed  in  the  person  of  Right  Rev.  Francis 
McNeirney.  In  1874  the  co-adj  utor  was  placed 
in  the  full  administration  of  the  Diocese,  and 
October  17,  1877,  Bishop  Conroy  resigned,  and 
Bishop  McNeirny  became  Bishop  of  Albany. 
Under  his  able  and  active  administration  the 
Diocese  of  Albany  has  flourished.  In  1872  the 
Diocese  of  Ogdensburg  was  carved  out  of  that 
of  Albany,  and  in  1886  that  of  Syracuse.  Not 
withstanding  these  losses,  the  Diocese  to-day 
possesses  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  priests, 


eighty-two  churches  with  and  thirty-eight 
churches  without  resident  pastors,  forty-two 
chapels  and  seventy-four  stations,  three  male 
and  three  female  academies,  six  orphan  asylums, 
two  homes  for  the  aged  and  two  hospitals.  The 
Provincial  Theological  Seminary  of  St.  Joseph  is 
located  at  Troy  in  the  Diocese.  The  Jesuit  Fa- 
thers  have  erected  at  Auriesville  a  shrine  in 
honor  of  Father  Jogues  and  Rene  Goupil,  New 
York's  martyrs,  now  undergoing  canonization ; 
and  the  shrine  has  become  a  place  of  annual 
pilgrimages. 


DIOCESE  OF  BUFFALO. 


ON  the  erection  of  the  See  of  Buffalo,  in  1847, 
Rev.  John  Timon,  a  distinguished  and  holy 
Lazarist  from  The  Barrens,  Missouri,  was  ap 
pointed  its  first  Bishop.  The  Diocese  embraces 


St.  Joseph's  Cathedral,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

the  counties  of  Erie,  Niagara,  Genesee,  Orleans, 
Chautauqua,  Wyoming,  Cattaraugus,  Steuben, 
Chemung,  Tioga,  Alleghany  and  Schuyler. 
The  new  Bishop,  after  at  first  refusing  the  ap 
pointment,  finally  accepted  from  obedience,  and 
was  consecrated  at  the  old  New  York  Cathedral 
by  Bishop  Hughes  on  October  17,  1847. 


was  accompanied  to  Buffalo  by  Bishops  Hughes, 
McCloskey  and  Walsh  of  Canada,  and  Very 
Rev.  Bernard  O'Reilly. 

Bishop  Timon  organized  the  Diocese  with  un 
tiring  zeal  and  thoroughness.  In  1851  he 
founded  St.  Joseph's  Orphan  Asylum,  and  went 
to  the  Legislature  himself  and  got  the  charter, 
which  he  had  prepared,  passed.  In  1853  he 
founded  the  Foundling  Asylum,  and  in  1854  it 
was  opened  for  entrances.  He  purchased  and 
opened  a  cemetery  of  forty  acres  on  part  of  a 
farm  he  purchased.  He  founded  the  Deaf  and 
Dumb  Asylum,  St.  Mary's  German  Orphan 
Asylum,  the  Magdalen  Asylum  and  the  Provi 
dence  Lunatic  Asylum.  What  does  not  Buffalo 
owe  to  the  memory  of  this  holy  Bishop?  In 
1848  was  established  the  ecclesiastical  seminary 
at  Suspension  Bridge,  and  it  was  placed  in 
charge  of  the  Lazarists.  He  founded,  with  the 
generous  aid  of  Mr.  Devereux,  the  college  and 
convent  of  the  Franciscans  at  Alleghany,  and 
supplied  it  with  Fathers  whom  he  procured 
from  Europe ;  and  under  his  favor  and  encour 
agement  were  established  St.  Joseph's  College 
of  the  Christian  Brothers,  the  Redemptorist 
Convent  of  St.  Mary,  the  Community  of  Mis 
sionary  Oblate  Fathers,  the  Sisters  of  Mercy, 
the  Passionist  Retreat  of  St.  Mary,  the  Sisters 
of  St.  Joseph,  the  Sisters  of  St.  Francis,  the 
Gray  Nuns  and  Sisters  of  Mary.  His  resources 
were  severely  taxed,  but  he  met  his  obligations 
in  the  midst  of  poverty. 


DIOCESE  OF  NEWARK. 


Bishop  Timon  commenced  his  fine  Cathedral 
of  St.  Joseph  in  1852,  visited  Mexico  and  solic 
ited  contributions  for  the  work.  After  he  had 
secured  the  ground  a  bigoted  effort  was  made  to 
get  it  away  from  him.  After  it  was  built  its  de 
struction  was  plotted ;  but  after  every  obstacle 
was  overcome  the  Cathedral  was  dedicated  in 
1855.  The  Diocese  of  Buffalo  was  among  the 
foremost  in  sending  pecuniary  relief  to  Pope 
Pius  IX.  in  his  afflictions ;  so,  too,  in  aiding  the 
American  College  in  Rome.  Bishop  Timon  died 
of  erysipelas,  supposed  to  have  been  contracted 
from  an  expiring  Sister  of  Charity,  whose  last 
confession  he  heard.  He  died,  as  he  had  lived, 
most  holy,  on  April  16,  1867.  He  left  his  Dio 
cese  enriched  with  one  hundred  and  sixteen 
priests,  after  commencing  with  eighteen,  one 
hundred  and  sixty-five  churches  and  thirty  sta 
tions  ;  from  one  charitable  institution  he  left 
sixteen  ;  from  one  female  academy  he  increased 
the  number  to  eighteen  and  nine  male  institu 
tions  ;  and  the  Diocese  contained  a  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  Catholics.  Besides  the  Eccle 


siastical  Seminary  at  Suspension  Bridge,  there 
was  a  Diocesan  Seminary  in  the  Bishop's  house. 
Very  Rev.  William  Gleeson  was  administrator 
during  the  vacancy  of  the  See.  The  See  of 
Rochester  was  formed  from  that  of  Buffalo  in 
1868. 

The  Diocese  of  Buffalo  next  passed  into  the 
hands  of  Very  Rev.  Stephen  V.  Ryan,  Visitor 
of  the  Lazarists  in  America,  who  was  conse 
crated  by  Archbishop  McCloskey  at  Buffalo, 
November  8,  1868.  During  the  administration 
of  Bishop  Ryan  the  Diocese  of  Buffalo  has 
grown  in  churches,  priests,  schools  and  institu 
tions.  Jesuit  Fathers  from  Germany  have  en 
tered  the  Diocese,  and  founded  at  Buffalo  St. 
Canisius  College ;  the  Ladies  of  the  Sacred 
Heart  have  opened  a  school  at  Buffalo,  and  the 
Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  have  opened  several  con 
vents  and  schools.  Buffalo  is  one  of  the  best 
developed  and  most  flourishing  Dioceses  in  the 
American  Church.  It  owes  much  to  the  Laza 
rists,  especially  to  the  two  Lazarists  who  have 
been  its  Bishops. 


DIOCESE  OF  NEWARK. 


THE  Diocese  of  Newark,  embracing  the  State 
of  New  Jersey,  was  created  in  1853.  Rev.  James 
Roosevelt  Bayley,  a  convert  and  then  secretary 
and  chancellor  of  Bishop  Hughes,  was  appointed 
its  Bishop  ;  and  he  received  consecration  from 
Archbishop  Bedini  at  old  St.  Patrick's,  New 
York,  October  30,  1852,  and  was  installed  on 
November  ist. 

New  Jersey  had  not  been  an  overproductive 
field  for  Catholicit}^  yet  not  entirely  without 
good  results.  The  Catholic  Plowden  family 
visited  it  in  the  first  half  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  and  Colonel  Thomas  Dongan,  the 
fugitive  Catholic  governor  of  New  York,  took 
brief  shelter  there  on  the  overthrow  of  his  gov 
ernment,  as  before  related ;  the  first  Catholic 
priest  was  the  Jesuit  Father  Theodore  Schneider, 
who  came  from  Goshenhoppen,  Pennsylvania, 
in  1844,  and  said  Mass  at  Iron  Furnace. 
During  the  Colonial  and  Revolutionary  periods 
the  Jesuits  of  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania 
visited  and  administered  to  the  few  Catholics 
there,  and  Bishop  Carroll  had  included  it  in  his 
Episcopal  visitations.  In  1808,  when  the  Dio- 

5 


ceses  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia  were  cre 
ated,  the  southern  portion  became  attached  to 
Philadelphia,  the  northern  portion  to  New  York. 
A  single  Asylum  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity  at 
Newark  was  the  small  basis  upon  which  was  built 
the  great  expansion  of  the  Sisterhood  ;  St.  Eliza 
beth's  Convent,  with  girls'  and  boys'  schools, 
was  founded  at  Madison.  The  Mother  House  re 
moved  there  in  1860,  and  in  1872,  when  Bishop 
Bayley  went  to  Baltimore,  the  Sisterhood  num 
bered  one  hundred  and  seventy  members,  with 
their  own  Superior,  incorporated  under  the  laws 
of  New  Jersey,  and  with  numerous  schools,  asy 
lums  and  hospitals.  Seton  Hall  College  was 
founded,  and  now  contains  academic  and  theo 
logical  courses  ;  Bishops  Corrigan  and  Wigger 
have  resided  at  the  college,  and  extensive 
buildings  have  been  erected.  The  Benedictine 
priests  and  nuns  have  been  introduced.  St. 
Mary's  Abbey,  at  Newark,  and  male  and  female 
schools  at  Newark  and  Elizabeth,  with  churches 
attached,  have  been  erected.  The  Passionists 
were  introduced  and  founded  their  fine  Monastery 
and  Church  of  St.  Michael,  near  Hoboken  ;  so 


66 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  NEW  YORK. 


also  the  Christian  Brothers  have  taken  charge     three  Provincial  Councils  of  New  York,  in  the 


of  the  male  parochial  schools  of  the  Diocese ; 
the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  with  their  convent, 
school  and  orphan  asylum,  at  Newark,  and  the 


St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  Newark,  N.  J. 

Sisters  of  the  Poor  of  St.  Francis,  with  their  hos 
pitals  at  Hoboken,  Newark,  and  Jersey  City,  have 
become  established.  The  Young  Men's  Catholic 
Institute,  founded  by  Bishop  McQuaid,  has  been 
expanded  with  library,  lecture  hall,  reading  room, 
book-store,  gymnasium,  billiard  and  music  rooms. 
Parochial  Schools,  Sodalities,  Rosary  and  Bona 
Mors  Societies,  Conferences  of  St.  Vincent  de 
Paul,  the  Association  for  the  Propagation  of  the 


Second  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore  and  the 
Vatican  Council.  In  1872,  Bishop  Bayley  was 
made  Archbishop  of  Baltimore,  and  was  suc 
ceeded  by  Very  Rev.  Michael  Augustine  Corri- 
gan,  D.  D.,  his  Vicar-General  and  President  of 
Seton  Hall  College,  who  was  consecrated  at  the 
Newark  Cathedral,  May  4,  1873. 

The  Jesuits  were  received  into  the  Diocese 
and  founded  St.  Peter's  College,  a  day  school 
near  St.  Peter's  Church,  which  they  attend ;  the 
Dominicans  came  and  have  conducted  the 
Church  of  St.  Antoninus  in  Newark,  and  the 
Capuchins  and  Carmelites  took  Englewood  and 
Fort  Lee.  The  Sisters  of  Christian  Charity, 
Sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  the  Sisters  of  the 
Poor  of  St.  Francis,  the  Little  Sisters  of  the 
Poor,  and  the  Dominican  Sisters  of  St.  Dominick 
of  Perpetual  Adoration  have  been  added  to  the 
noble  working  forces  of  the  Diocese.  Confer 
ences  of  the  clergy  on  theological  subjects  were 
introduced,  a  Catholic  Union,  Catholic  Protec 
tory,  and  several  Catholic  institutes  in  different 
cities.  In  1880  there  were  one  hundred  and 
eighty-four  priests,  of  whom  fifty-five  were  reg 
ulars,  eighty-four  male  religious,  and  six  hun 
dred  and  fifty  sisters ;  churches  were  one  hun 
dred  and  forty-two,  and  forty  stations,  five  mon 
asteries,  seven  convents,  twenty-one  female 
academies,  seventy-seven  parochial  schools  for 
boys  and  seventy-six  for  girls,  nine  orphanage 
schools,  three  industrial  schools  and  reforma 
tories,  five  orphanages,  five  hospitals,  three 
asylums,  and  a  Chatholic  population  of  one  hun 
dred  and  seventy-five  thousand.  October  i, 
1880,  Archbishop  Corrigan  was  transferred  to 
New  York  as  co-adjutor  of  Cardinal  McCloskey. 

In  1 88 1  the  Diocese  of  Newark  was  subdi 
vided  into  the  Dioceses  of  Newark  and  Trenton. 
Rev.  Winand  Michael  Wigger,  D.  D.,  pastor  of 
St.  Vincent's  Church  at  Madison,  was  appointed 
Bishop  of  Newark,  and  was  consecrated  at  the 
Newark  Cathedral  by  Archbishop  Corrigan  on 
October  18, 1881.  The  massive  Dominican  Con 
vent  of  the  Perpetual  Adoration  has  been  built, 
and  was  opened  for  public  inspection  in  Novem 
ber,  1885  ;  one  asylum,  a  Home  for  the  Blind, 
and  several  new  churches  have  been  erected,  the 
Protectory  removed  from  Dover  to  the  extensive 


Faith,  and  Temperance  Societies  were  introduced. 

The  Diocese  was  represented  by  Bishop  Bayley  in     grounds  at  Arlington,  and  a  creche,  at  which 


DIOCESE  OF  BROOKLYN.  67 

children  from  one  to  six  years  old  are  cared  for,  The  Diocese  is  showing  good  fruits  from  Bishop 

has  been  attached  to  the  Convent  of  the  Sisters  Wigger's  wise,  just,  impartial,  zealous  adminis- 

of  Charity  of  St.  John's  Church,  Orange,  and  tration,  and  from  his  untiring  labors  and  visi- 

other  works  of  charity  and  education  commenced,  tations. 


DIOCESE  OF  BROOKLYN. 


Interior  view  of  St.  James  Cathedral,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


THE  Diocese  of  Brooklyn,  embracing  all  Long 
Island,  was  formed  out  of  that  of  New  York,  in 
1853.  Rev.  John  Loughlin,  Vicar-General  of 
New  York,  was  appointed  its  first  Bishop.  He 
was  consecrated  in  old  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral 
by  Archbishop  Bedini  on  October  30,  1853. 
For  thirty-six  years  it  has  grown  in  churches, 
priests,  religious  orders,  institutions  and  schools 
of  every  kind.  Nearly  one  hundred  and  twenty 
churches  and  chapels  have  been  erected,  since 
1853,  in  the  Diocese  of  Brooklyn,  which  then 
possessed  only  twenty-one.  A  grand  Gothic 
Cathedral  of  granite  has  been  commenced  and 
is  now  in  course  of  erection ;  the  corner-stone 
was  laid  June  20,  1868  ;  the  greatest  length  is 
354  feet,  the  extreme  breadth  is  180  feet;  the 
towers,  50  feet  square  at  their  base,  will  be 
350  feet  high.  A  fine  episcopal  residence  has 


been  erected  and  fitted  for  the  Bishop  by  his 
priests  and  people,  but  the  Bishop  long  preferred 
his  old  home  of  thirty-six  years  in  Jay  street. 
Two  colleges,  with  four  hundred  and  fifty  pupils, 
are  in  successful  operation,  and  nearly  one 
hundred  parochial  schools.  Hospitals  and 
asylums  have  been  built  in  great  numbers,  in 
cluding  a  Home  for  News-Boys.  The  Lazarists, 
Franciscan  Brothers,  Visitation  Nuns,  Sisters 
of  Charity,  Sisters  of  Mercy,  Dominican  Sisters, 
Sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  Sisters  of  the 
Poor  of  St.  Francis,  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  and 
Sisters  of  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Mary  have 
flourishing  institutions  in  the  Diocese.  The 
Catholic  population  of  the  Diocese  is  nearly 
two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand.  The  orphan 
asylums,  the  convent  at  Flushing,  the  Francis 
can  College,  the  Visitation  Convent  College  of 


68 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  NEW   YORK. 


St.  John  the  Baptist,  House  of  the  Good  Shep 
herd,  St.  Vincent's  Home  for  Boys,  are  institu 
tions  which  do  honor  to  this  Diocese  in  their 


material  and  architectural  structure,  and  still 
more  in  their  interior  management  and  purpose, 
and  in  the  blessings  they  impart. 


DIOCESE  OF  ROCHESTER. 

THE  Diocese  of  Rochester  was  created  in  1868, 
and  comprises  the  counties  of  Monroe,  Living- 


St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

ston,  Wayne,  Ontario,  Seneca,  Cayuga,  Yates 
and  Tompkins  in  the  State  of  New  York.  Right 
Rev.  Bernard  Joseph  McQuaid,  Vicar-General  of 
Newark,  was  appointed  first  Bishop.  Bishop 


McQuaid  received  consecration  on  July  12,  1868. 
The  Diocese  was  organized  with  vigor,  system 
and  zeal.  St.  Andrew's  Preparatory  Seminary 
was  established  in  September,  1870,  and  was  de 
signed  for  boys  only  who  desired  to  be  educated 
for  the  priesthood  ;  it  opened  with  seven  students, 
six  of  whom  persevered  and  entered  the  Troy 
Seminary,  and  it  now  has  thirty-one  students. 
The  Auburn  Orphan  Asylum,  Rochester  Home 
of  Industry  and  St.  Mary's  Industrial  School 
have  sprung  up  under  Bishop  McQuaid's  admin 
istration.  The  Diocese  also  possesses  the  Con 
vent  of  the  Redemptorist  Fathers,  the  Convent 
and  Academy  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  and  Convents 
of  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  and  the  Sisters  of  St. 
Joseph,  and  the  Mother  House  of  the  latter. 
When  founded,  the  new  Diocese  possessed  sixty 
churches,  now  it  has  eighty-eight ;  thirty-eight 
priests,  now  it  has  seventy-seven  and  forty- one 
ecclesiastical  students,  three  academies  for  young 
ladies,  one  hospital,  five  orphan  asylums,  nine 
thousand  children  attending  parochial  schools, 
and  a  Catholic  population  of  seventy-seven  thou 
sand.  The  best  of  discipline  prevails  in  the 
Diocese,  and  in  accordance  with  canonical  regu 
lations  synodal  examiners,  a  promoter  fiscalis, 
defender  of  the  bond  of  matrimony,  rural 
deans  and  school  inspectors  have  been  ap 
pointed.  Rochester  alone  has  twenty-four  altars 
dedicated  to  divine  service. 


DIOCESE  OF  OGDENSBURG. 


THE  Diocese  of  Ogdensburg  was  erected  by 
Pope  Pius  IX.,  February  15,  1872,  and  comprises 
the  New  York  counties  of  Lewis,  Jefferson,  Law 
rence,  Franklin,  Clinton  and  Essex,  and  that 
part  of  Herkimer  and  Hamilton  counties  lying 
north  of  the  northern  line  of  the  townships  of 
Ohio  and  Russia ;  it  embraces  the  Adirondack 
mountains  and  lake  region.  Right  Rev.  Edgar 
P.  Wadhams,  the  first  Bishop,  was  consecrated 
at  the  Albany  Cathedral  by  Archbishop  Mc- 
Closkey  on  May  5,  1872.  His  installation  in 


St.  Mary's  Cathedral  took  place  on  May  16, 
1872.  The  Episcopal  City  was  the  scene  of  the 
Presentation  Mission  founded  by  the  Rev.  Fran 
cis  Picquet  in  1748,  mentioned  elsewhere  in  this 
work.  The  Diocese  was  well  organized  by 
Bishop  Wadhams.  The  Oblate  Fathers  had  the 
missions  of  Plattsburg  and  vicinity,  and  the 
Gray  Nuns  had  convents  at  Ogdensburg  and 
Plattsburg ;  the  Diocese  had  sixty-five  churches, 
thirty-eight  stations,  forty-two  priests,  and  a 
Catholic  population  of  fifty  thousand.  One  of 


DIOCESE  OF  TRENTON. 


69 


Bishop  Wadhams'  first  acts  was  to  invite  the 
clerks  of  St.  Viateur  to  come  to  Ogdensburg  and 


St.  Mary's  Cathedral,  Ogdensburg,  N.  Y. 

take  charge  of  the  schools.  The  Franciscan  Sis 
ters  opened  schools  at  Croghan  and  Mohawk 
Hill,  the  Missionary  Fathers  of  the  Sacred  Heart 
opened  a  college  at  Watertown,  and  the  Sisters 
of  Mercy  two  day-schools,  and  Father  Jeannott 
opened  a  school  for  the  Canadians  at  Ogdens 


burg.  The  Sisters  of  Mercy  opened  schools  for 
girls  at  Hogansburg  and  Brasher ;  and  similar 
institutions  were  started  by  the  Oblate  Fathers 
at  Plattsburg  under  the  care  of  the  Gray  Nuns, 
and  by  Father  Lorraine  at  Redwood  under  the 
care  of  the  Gray  Nuns.  The  Augustinians  took 
the  mission  at  Carthage,  and  the  Franciscans 
that  of  Croghan.  The  Gray  Nuns  have  two 
schools  and  a  hospital  and  orphanage  at  Ogdens 
burg,  and  a  house  at  Plattsburg ;  the  Sisters  of 
Mercy  are  at  Hogansburg,  Brasher  Falls,  Keese- 
ville,  Rouse's  Point  and  Watertown  ;  the  Sisters 
of  St.  Joseph  are  at  Watertown,  Cape  Vincent 
and  Carthage ;  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross  are 
at  Redford  and  the  Sisters  of  St.  Francis  at  Cro 
ghan.  The  activity  of  Bishop  Wadhams  was  seen 
in  the  erection  of  thirteen  new  parishes  in  thir 
teen  years.  The  Bishop  and  the  priests  of  the 
Diocese,  seculars  and  regulars,  have  been  church- 
builders,  for  the  Diocese  now  possesses  sixty 
churches  with  pastors,  thirty-nine  without  resi 
dent  pastors,  and  fifty-three  stations  where  Mass 
is  said  and  catechism  taught.  There  are  seventy- 
four  priests,  of  whom  eleven  are  regulars,  four 
teen  religious  communities  of  women  and  four 
of  men,  fourteen  convents,  one  hospital,  one  or 
phanage,  one  hundred  and  three  Sisters,  nearly 
three  thousand  children  attending  parochial 
schools,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  sixty-three 
thousand.  The  financial  condition  of  the  Dio 
cese  and  of  parishes  is  greatly  improved,  and 
churches  overwhelmed  by  debt  have  been  re 
lieved  by  Bishop  or  pastors. 


DIOCESE  OF  TRENTON. 


THE  new  Diocese  of  Trenton  was  carved  out 
of  the  Diocese  of  Newark,  in  1881,  and  com 
prises  fourteen  counties  of  New  Jersey,  viz. : 
Atlantic,  Burlington,  Camden,  Cape  May,  Cum 
berland,  Gloucester,  Hunterdon,  Mercer,  Mid 
dlesex,  Monmouth,  Ocean,  Salem,  Somerset  and 
Warren.  Rev.  Michael  J.  O'Farrell,  pastor  of 
St.  Peter's  Church,  New  York,  was  appointed 
first  Bishop.  He  was  consecrated  at  the  New 
York  Cathedral,  on  November  i,  iSSi,  by  Cardi 
nal  McCloskey.  St.  Mary's  Church,  Trenton, 
was  selected  as  the  pro-Cathedral.  The  Diocese 
was  well  organized  by  the  Bishop,  and  besides 
the  appointment  of  Vicar-General,  chancellor, 


secretary  and  council,  there  have  also  been  estab 
lished  rural  deans,  synodal  examiners,  promo- 
tor  fiscalis,  defender  of  the  bond  of  matrimony 
and  examiners  of  schools.  The  zeal  and  elo 
quence  of  Bishop  O'Farrell  in  preaching,  lect 
uring  and  visiting  his  Diocese,  awakened  secta- 
bitterness.  The  burning  of  St.  John's 


nan 


Church,  at  Trenton,  is  believed  to  have  been  the 
work  of  incendiarism,  instigated  by  bigoted  feel 
ings.  The  Franciscans  have  established  their 
Convent  of  Minor  Conventuals  at  Chambers- 
burg,  Trenton,  the  College  and  Theological 
Seminary  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  founded  at  Vine- 
land  and  placed  in  charge  of  the  Fathers  of 


7o 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Mercy,  together  with  a  Novitiate  of  the  Fathers,  cured  from  Saturday  to  Monday  to  meet  the  un- 
A  House  of  the  Augustinians  has  been  established  usual  demand.  Bishop  O'Farrell  himself  per- 
at  Atlantic  City.  The  Brothers  of  the  Holy  Cross 
at  Camden,  and  Sisters  of  Mercy,  Franciscan 
Sisters,  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  Sisters  of 
Charity,  Sisters  of  St.  Dominick,  Sisters  of  Chris 
tian  Charity,  and  the  Ladies  of  the  Sacred 
Heart,  have  all  undertaken  works  and  establish 
ments  peculiar  to  their  several  institutes.  St. 
Francis'  Hospital,  St.  Mary's  Home  for  home 
less  children,  St.  Mary's  Orphan  Asylum  at 
New  Brunswick,  and  numerous  Catholic  asso 
ciations,  Conferences  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  and 
Catholic  Unions  have  been  organized.  The 
Diocese  contains  seventy-eight  priests,  three 
brothers,  one  hundred  and  sixty  sisters,  one 
hundred  and  twenty-eight  churches  and  stations, 
seven  academies,  twenty-five  parochial  schools 
and  six  convents. 

As  the  Diocese  of  Trenton  contains  a  larger 
sea-coast  and  more  numerous  and  more  impor 
tant  summer  watering-places  than,  perhaps,  any 
Diocese  in  the  world,  the  work  of  supplying 
these  much  frequented  places  with  churches  and 
priests — the  latter  especially  in  summer — has 
greatly  taxed  the  resources  of  the  Diocese  and 
the  labors  of  the  Bishops  and  their  priests. 
This  want  have  been  bravely  met.  Churches 
have  been  built  by  the  former  or  present  Bishop 
on  the  coast  at  Asbviry  Park,  Atlantic  City,  At 
lantic  Highlands,  Cape  May,  Elberon,  Long 
Branch,  Seabright,  and  priests  from  these  places 


attend  to  other   seaside   missions.     During  the 
summer  season  additional  clerical  force  is  pro- 


St.  Mary's  Cathedral,  Trenton,  N.  J. 

forms  missionary  work  at  the  seaside  missions 
in  summer. 


DIOCESE  OF  SYRACUSE. 


THE  Diocese  of  Syracuse  was  erected  out  of 
that  of  Albany  in  1886,  and  comprises  the  fol 
lowing  counties  of  New  York,  viz. :  Broome, 
Chenango,  Cortland,  Madison,  Oneida,  Onon- 
daga  and  Oswego.  It  embraces  the  scenes  of  the 
old  Jesuit  Missions  among  the  Iroquois  or  Five 
Nations,  of  the  martyrdom  of  Father  Jogues  and 
Rene  Goupil,  and  the  early  home  of  Catharine 
Tegakouita,  the  site  of  the  shrine  and  pilgrim 
ages  of  our  Lady  of  Martyrs  in  the  Mohawk 
Valley,  near  Auriesville.  Very  Rev.  Patrick 


Anthony  Ludden,  Vicar-General  of  Albany,  was 
appointed  first  Bishop.  He  was  consecrated  by 
the  Most  Rev.  Michael  Augustine  Corrigan, 
Archbishop  of  New  York,  on  May  i,  1887.  The 
Franciscan  Minor  Conventuals  have  a  convent, 
novitiate  and  college  at  Syracuse,  and  the  same 
Order  have  the  mission  at  Utica.  The  Sisters  of 
Charity,  the  Franciscan  Sisters,  Sisters  of  St. 
Joseph,  Sisters  of  St.  Ann  and  Christian  Broth 
ers  are  at  work  in  school,  convent,  asylum  and 
hospital.  Already  the  Diocese  has  been  canoni- 


DIOCESE  OF  SYRACUSE. 


cally  organized  in  accordance  with  the  methods 
adopted  by  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Balti 
more,  by  the  appointment  of  examiners  of  the 
clergy,  promoter  fiscalis,  defender  of  the  bond 
of  matrimony,  school  board  and  rural  deans. 
The  Diocese  possesses  seventy-seven  churches 
and  fifteen  chapels,  with  seventy-nine  priests. 
Parochial  schools  form  a  leading  feature  in  the 
Diocese,  there  being  fourteen  already  established 
and  others  organizing. 

In  addition  to  the  above  the  Diocese  of  Syra 
cuse  possesses  forty-five  stations  where  Mass  is 
said,  and  five  or  more  churches  in  course  of 
erection  ;  one  academy  for  boys  and  one  for  girls, 


and  four  select  Catholic  schools  ;  five  orphan  asy 
lums  and  two  hospitals.  There  are  five  thousand 
three  hundred  and  fifty  pupils  attending  the 
parochial  schools,  and  the  Catholic  population 
of  the  Diocese  numbers  one  hundred  thousand. 
The  Jesuit  Fathers  have  charge  of  the  shrine  at 
Aureisville  erected  in  commemoration  of  the 
early  church  of  the  Mohawk  Valley  and  its 
illustrious  missionaries  and  martyrs,  and  there 
is  now  proceeding  at  Rome  a  process  in  the 
usual  form  for  the  canonization  of  Father  Jogues, 
Rene  Goupil  and  Catharine  Tegakouita.  The 
canonization  of  these  holy  saints  will  give  a  well- 
merited  prestige  to  the  Diocese  of  Syracuse. 


N.  Y. 


MOST  REV.   MICHAEL  AUGUSTINE  CORRIGAN,  D.  D. 


SECOND   BISHOP  OF  NEWARK,  AND  THIRD  ARCHBISHOP  OF   NEW  YORK. 


S  a  model  of  the  priest 
hood  and  of  the 
episcopate,  Arch 
bishop  Corrigau  is 
recognized  as  a  man 
of  God.  Born  of 
Irish  parents  i  n 
Newark,  New  Jer 
sey,  August  i  3 , 
1839,  his  true  merit 
and  great  useful- 
in  the  Church  have  advanced 


him 


to  the  highest  positions  in  spite 
of  his  characteristic  modesty.  Out 
of  a  family  of  six  children  three  became  priests, 
and  an  only  daughter  became  a  nun  at  Meaux, 
in  France.  In  1855  he  was  sent  by  his  parents 
to  Mount, St.  Mary's,  at  Emmittsburg,  and  here, 
as  at  home,  his  assiduity  and  piety  won  all 
hearts,  and  gained  him  a  high  standing.  He  was 
from  childhood  marked  for  the  priesthood,  and  was 
the  first  student  to  enter  the  new  American  Col 
lege  in  Rome,  which  was  founded  by  Pope  Pius 
IX.  He  was  ordained  at  the  Basilica  of  St. 
John  Lateran,  on  September  19,  1863,  by  Car 
dinal  Patrizzi.  He  remained  in  Rome  to  pursue  a 
higher  ecclesiastical  course  of  studies,  and  was 
awarded  a  Doctorate  with  distinction.  Scarcely 
had  he  returned  to  his  native  State  when  Bishop 
Bayley  appointed  him  Professor  of  Dogmatic 
Theology  and  Sacred  Scriptures  in  his  Seminary 
at  Seton  Hall,  South  Orange ;  and  he  was  ad 
vanced  to  the  direction  of  the  seminary,  then 
was  made  Vice-President,  and  finally  President 
of  Seton  Hall  College,  succeeding  Dr.  McQuaid 
on  his  consecration  as  Bishop  of  Rochester. 
Seton  Hall  owes  much  to  his  labors,  zeal  and 
learning. 

In  all  of  his  Diocesan  labors  Bishop  Bay- 
ley  found  Dr.  Corrigan's  services  invaluable, 
uniting  ability  with  a  conscientious  discharge  of 
duty.  While  the  Bishop  was  absent  at  the  Vat 
ican  Council,  Dr.  Corrigan  ably  and  faithfully 
(72) 


administered  the  Diocese,  and  was  Vicar-General 
in  addition  to  his  duties  at  the  college.  His 
youth  was  in  contrast  with  his  onerous  and  re 
sponsible  work  and  positions.  He  was  the  choice 
of  all  as  successor  to  Bishop  Bayley,  on  that 
prelate's  promotion  to  the  See  of  Baltimore. 
He  was  consecrated  at  the  Newark  Cathedral  as 
Bishop  of  Newark  by  Archbishop  McCloskey  on 
May  4,  1873,  and  immediately  took  possession 
and  went  unostentatiously  to  work.  Though 
the  youngest  member  of  the  heirarchy,  he 
seemed  experienced  with  the  oldest.  His  capac 
ity  for  work  was  extraordinary.  He  retained  the 
presidency  of  Seton  Hall,  and  was  a  leading  factor 
in  making  that  institution  a  success.  Though  he 
found  his  Diocese  flourishing,  he  seemed  to  find 
more  to  do  than  time  would  permit.  He  visited 
the  Diocese  with  regularity,  zeal  and  untiring 
assiduity,  spreading  around  him  the  influences 
of  good  example,  sound  and  earnest  preaching, 
careful  and  minute  observance  of  every  duty, 
and  exactitude  in  every  work  of  religion  and 
charity.  During  his  administration  of  this  Dio 
cese  he  introduced  the  Jesuits,  Dominicans  and 
Franciscans,  and  added  greatly  to  the  number 
of  his  clergy,  both  regular  and  secular.  Re 
ligious  orders  and  institutions  were  multiplied. 
While  the  demand  generally  was  for  active  re 
ligious  Orders  only,  he  was  not  content  with 
these  alone,  but  he  introduced  one  of  the  most 
rigidly  cloistered  and  contemplative  Orders  of 
the  Church,  the  Dominican  Sisters  of  the  Per 
petual  Adoration,  from  France,  whom  he  gen 
erously  befriended,  and  who  are  now  leading  the 
devout  life  of  their  institute  at  Newark  in  the 
massive  convent  built  upon  the  plan  of  St.  Dom 
inic  himself.  He  still  frequently  visits  them 
from  New  York,  and  has  made  arrangements  in 
the  Archdiocese  of  New  York  to  introduce  a 
colony  of  these  devout  religious.  When  he  left 
Newark,  in  1880,  he  had  increased  the  churches 
of  the  Diocese  from  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
one  to  one  hundred  and  fifty,  besides  forty  sta- 


COPYRIGHTED  1888  BY  GEBBIE&CO. 


ORAVURE.GEBBIE  Sc  HU6SON  CO.L*1 


MOST  REV.  MICHAEL  A 
JJ<<-  A/.';.*/.',./,  ,•/'.   I,',,. 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  NEW  YORK. 


73 


tions,  the  priests  irom  one  hundred  and  sixteen 
to  one  hundred  and  ninety-two,  and  the  parochial 
schools  from  fifty-seven  to  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
three.  The  discipline  of  the  clergy  and  the  con 
dition  of  the  Diocese  were  admirable.  He  always 
was  an  example  of  ecclesiastical  discipline. 

When  the  venerable  Cardinal  McCloskey, 
Archbishop  of  New  York,  needed  a  co-adjutor  in 
1880,  Bishop  Corrigan  was  his  choice,  and  al 
though  his  love  for  his  flock  and  his  retiring  tastes 
disinclined  him  to  the  charge,  he  accepted  the 
burden,  and  made  it  a  joy  to  himself  and  example 
to  all.  On  October  i,  1880,  he  was  appointed 
Archbishop  of  Petra,  and  co-adjutor  to  the  Car 
dinal  Archbishop  of  New  York,  and  successor. 
In  consequence  of  the  Cardinal's  failing  health, 
all  the  work  of  the  vast,  populous  and  important 
Diocese  of  New  York  devolved  upon  him.  He 
was  untiring  in  his  labors,  and  never  found  a 
moment  of  repose,  and  yet  he  never  called  upon 
another  Bishop  to  assist  him.  His  visitations 
of  the  Diocese,  confirmations,  ordinations  and 
dedications,  and  other  similar  appointments, 
knew  no  cessation.  To  the  feeble  Cardinal  he 
was  a  devoted  and  consoling  friend,  and  did  all 
to  smooth  and  cheer  his  last  years.  He  con 
ducted  the  Fourth  Provincial  Council  and  Fourth 
Synod  of  New  York,  and  in  the  Plenary  Council 
of  Baltimore  he  represented  the  Archdiocese  of 
New  York.  His  Manual  for  Diocesan  assem 
blies  is  a  work  of  usefulness  and  exact  accuracy. 
He  was  one  of  the  American  prelates  summoned 
to  Rome  to  consult  with  the  Pope  in  regard  to 
the  proposed  Plenary  Council  of  1884.  On  the 
death  of  the  Cardinal  on  October  10,  1885,  he 
succeeded  him  as  Archbishop  of  New  York. 
From  that  time  to  the  present  his  life  has  been 


one  of  regular  and  incessant  labor,  and  it  is  a 
matter  of  wonder  how  one  person  can  accom 
plish  so  much.  On  January  15,  1886,  the  pal 
lium  was  postulated  for  him  in  the  Consistory 
of  that  date,  and  by  special  favor  of  the  Holy  See 
he  was  empowered  to  perform  the  duties  of  the 
Archiepiscopal  office  before  he  received  the  palli 
um  in  the  Cathedral,  on  March  3.  In  the  midst 
of  trials  and  scandals  he  has  been  firm  but  mild, 
and  in  a  most  trying  position  his  labors,  fidelity 
to  his  duty,  patience,  gentleness  and  firmness 
have  won  over  all  to  his  support.  The  condition 
of  the  Archdiocese  has  already  greatly  improved 
under  his  wise  and  energetic  administration, 
and  under  the  influence  of  his  example.  In 
the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore  he  was 
selected  to  preach  the  public  sermon  on  "  The 
Deceased  Bishops."  On  March  29,  1888,  as  a 
mark  of  approbation  from  the  Holy  See  for  his 
prudence  and  good  management  in  the  difficul 
ties  of  the  Church  growing  out  of  the  revolt  of 
Rev.  Edward  McGlynn  and  his  followers,  he  re 
ceived  from  Pope  Leo  XIII.  the  appointment  or 
rank  of  Bishop-assistant  at  the  Pontifical  throne. 
Besides  many  new  foundations  and  establish 
ments  of  religious  and  charitable  institutions, 
Archbishop  Corrigan  has  made  preparations  of 
funds  and  property  for  establishing  a  Theologi 
cal  Seminary  for  his  own  Diocese,  and  has  se 
cured  the  valuable  services  of  the  Sulpitians  as 
the  educators  of  his  young  priests.  He  has  se 
cured  ample  grounds  for  the  new  Convent  of  the 
Dominican  Sisters  of  the  Perpetual  Adoration, 
and  with  his  approbation  and  assistance  the  peo 
ple  of  New  York  are  now  contributing  largely  to 
the  fund  for  building  the  new  Convent,  which 
will  be  located  at  Hunt's  Point,  New  York  city. 


RIGHT   REV.    JOHN    LOUGHLIN,  D.  D. 


FIRST   BISHOP   OF    BROOKLYN. 


•OR  thirty-five  years  Bishop 
Loughlin  has  been  identified 
both  with  the  development  and 
growth  of  the  Catholic  Church 
in  a  Diocese  of  which  he  was 
the  first  Bishop.  He  was  born 
in  the  County  Down,  Ireland, 
in  1816.  Coming  to  this  conn- 
try  when  very  young  and  settling  in  Albany,  he 
was  sent  to  Mount  St.  Mary's  College,  Emmitts- 
burg,  where  persevering  study  gained  him  a 
solid  education.  He  embraced  the  holy  minis 
try,  and  he  was  one  of  the  priests  ordained  by 
Bishop  Hughes  at  the  first  ordination  per 
formed  by  that  illustrious  prelate,  October  18, 
1840.  His  first  service  was  as  assistant  at 
old  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  and  in  1844  he  became  its  pastor.  In 
1849  he  became  Dr.  Hughes'  Vicar-General. 

In  1853,  when  a  new  Diocese,  consisting  of 
all  Long  Island,  was  carved  out  of  the  Diocese 
of  New  York,  Father  Loughlin  was  chosen  its 
first  incumbent,  and  was  consecrated  Bishop  of 
Brooklyn  by  Archbishop  Bedini,  in  old  St.  Pat 
rick's,  on  October  30,  1853.  He  selected  St. 
James'  church  as  his  pro-Cathedral,  and  was 
there  installed  on  November  gth.  He  has  con 
tributed  more  than  any  other  agency  in  making 
Brooklyn  the  City  of  Churches,  which,  together 
with  Williamsburg,  when  he  commenced  his 
labors  had  only  ten  churches,  while  the  rest  of 
Long  Island  had  eleven  others,  and  twenty-three 
priests.  Schools  and  institutions  of  charity  were 
few.  He  soon  commenced  to  multiply  them  all. 
He  brought  there  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  and 
the  Sisters  of  Mercy  in  1855,  and  near  the  same 
time  the  Visitation  Nuns  caine ;  all  these  have 


since  greatly  multiplied  their  houses  and  foun 
dations.  He  also  introduced  the  Franciscan 
Brothers,  who  have  a  flourishing  college ;  also 
the  Sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  Little  Sis 
ters  of  the  Poor,  the  Franciscan  Sisters  of  the 
Poor.  In  1869  the  Lazarists,  or  Priests  of  the 
Mission,  were  introduced,  and  the  Bishop  laid 
the  corner-stone  of  their  fine  and  flourishing 
College  of  St.  John.  In  1868  he  undertook  the 
erection  of  the  grand  and  massive  Cathedral  of 
his  Diocese  under  the  invocation  of  the  Immacu 
late  Virgin,  and  on  June  aoth  of  that  year  the 
corner-stone  was  laid  by  Archbishop  McCloskey. 
Bishop  Loughlin  is  a  great  worker.  He  does 
his  own  work,  keeps  no  secretary,  conducts  his 
own  correspondence,  and  leaves  little  for  a  Vicar- 
General  to  attend  to.  His  multiplication  of  the 
works  and  institutions  of  his  Diocese  has  kept 
pace  with  or  surpassed  proportionately  the  mar 
vellous  growth  of  Brooklyn.  We  have  seen  with 
what  he  commenced ;  his  Diocese  now  contains  one 
hundred  and  seventeen  churches  besides  thirty- 
one  stations,  one  hundred  and  eighty  priests, 
ninety-six  parish  schools,  nine  orphan  asylums 
conducted  by  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  of  St. 
Dominick,  of  Mercy  and  of  Charity,  four  hos 
pitals,  an  Institution  for  Deaf  Mutes,  a  House 
for  Destitute  Children,  a  Nursery,  an  Invalids' 
Home,  House  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  besides  col 
leges,  academies  and  many  other  institutions  of 
charity  and  education.  Now  at  the  age  of  sev 
enty-two  Bishop  Loughlin  is  robust  in  health, 
active  in  his  labors,  cheerful  and  jovial,  and  is 
unacquainted  with  sickness.  He  has  taken  a 
deep  and  practical  interest  in  the  organizations 
of  Catholic  young  men,  and  is  a  great  friend  of 
the  temperance  cause. 


(74) 


RIGHT   REV.  JOHN    LOUGHLIN,  D.  D. 

Bishop  of  Brooklyn. 


RIGHT  REV.    STEPHEN   RYAN,    D.  D.,  C.  M. 

Bishop  of  Buffalo. 


RIGHT   REV.    FRANCIS    McNEIRNY,  D.  D. 

Bishop  of  Albany. 


RIGHT   REV.    WINANDUS    M.    WIGGER,    D.  D. 

Bishop  of  Newark. 


RIGHT  REV.  STEPHEN  VINCENT  RYAN,  CM..  D.  D. 


SECOND  BISHOP  OF  BUFFALO. 


Buffalo    the 
energy    and 


WO  Lazarists  in  succession, 
Bishops  Timon  and  Ryan, 
have  brought  to  the  Diocese  of 
experience,  the 
systematic  zeal 
acquired  in  the  admirable  Con 
gregation  of  the  Missions.  Stephen 
Vincent  Ryan  was  born  near  Al 
monte,  Upper  Canada,  on  January 
i,  1825,  °f  parents  who  had  settled 
there  from  County  Clare,  Ireland, 
and  who  afterwards  settled  with  their  children 
at  Pottsville,  Schuylkill  county,  Pennsylvania. 
He  was  sent  to  the  Seminary  of  St.  Charles 
Borromeo,  Philadelphia,  in  1840;  but  he  joined 
the  Lazarists  on  May  5, 1844,  at  Cape  Girardeau, 
and  made  his  studies  at  St.  Mary's  Seminary 
of  The  Barrens.  He  was  ordained  in  the  priest 
hood  by  Archbishop  Peter  Richard  Kenrick,  of 
St.  Louis,  on  June  24, 1849,  remaining,  however, 
to  serve  as  Prefect  of  Morals  and  Professor,  first 
of  St.  Mary's  of  The  Barrens,  and  subsequently 
at  Cape  Girardeau.  His  next  service  was  as 
President  of  St.  Vincent's  College  until  1857, 
and  next  he  filled  the  important  office  of  Visitor 
of  the  Lazarists  in  this  country.  It  was  a 
measure  in  which  he  took  an  important  part,  to 
remove  the  Mother  House  of  the  Lazarists  at 
St.  Louis,  where  he  was  then  residing,  to  the 
new  residence  and  novitiate  at  Gennantown. 
On  the  death  of  the  saintly  Bishop  Timon, 


Bishop  of  Buffalo,  Father  Ryan,  of  the  same 
congregation,  was  appointed  his  successor,  and 
he  received  episcopal  consecration  from  the 
hands  of  Archbishop  McCloskey  of  New  York, 
on  November  8,  1868.  He  has  increased  the 
number  of  his  churches  from  one  hundred  to 
nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty,  and  his  priests 
from  little  over  one  hundred  to  near  two  hundred, 
including  seculars  and  regulars.  The  Jesuits 
have  entered  the  Diocese  and  founded  St.  Cani- 
sius  College,  Buffalo,  with  its  three  hundred  and 
fifty  scholars,  and  the  Christian  Brothers  have 
established  St.  Joseph's  College.  Parochial 
schools  have  been  established  to  the  number  of 
sixty-one,  with  16,000  pupils.  The  Diocese 
now  contains  two  seminaries,  seven  male  col 
leges,  six  female  academies,  eleven  charitable 
institutions,  five  orphan  asylums  and  four  hos 
pitals.  The  Catholic  population  has  increased 
from  90,000  to  133,000. 

Though  a  man  of  singular  humility  and 
simplicity,  Bishop  Ryan  is  honored  in  the 
Church  for  his  learning,  zeal  and  eloquence. 
In  Councils  his  services  have  been  most  valuable. 
In  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore  he 
was  selected  to  preach  the  public  sermon  on 
"  The  Observation  of  Feasts."  He  founded  The 
Catholic  Union  in  Buffalo,  and  a  Catholic  paper 
bearing  the  name  of  The  Catholic  Union.  He 
is  active  among  the  laity,  encourages  their  or 
ganizations,  and  he  is  a  model  to  his  clergy. 


(75) 


RIGHT  REV.  FRANCIS  S.  McNEIRNY,  D.  D. 


THIRD   BISHOP   OF   ALBANY. 


CCEPTING  the  Diocese  of  Al 
bany  under  difficult  circum 
stances,  Bishop  McNeirny  has 
administered  it  faithfully  and 
successfully,  a  task  for  which 
the  ecclesiastical  training  he 
received  under  Archbishops 
Hughes  and  McCloskey  well 
fitted  him.  He  was  born  in  the  city  of 
New  York  on  April  21,  1828,  and  made 
his  first  studies  in  a  private  Catholic 
school  conducted  by  Mr.  Sparrow.  He 
continued  his  classical  studies  and  made  his 
philosophy  at  the  Sulpitian  College  at  Montreal, 
and  afterwards,  when  he  resolved  to  embrace  the 
priesthood,  he  entered  the  Grand  Seminary  of 
St.  Sulpice,  where  he  made  a  successful  course, 
was  for  one  year  Procurator,  and  for  two  years 
Professor  of  Belles-Lettres.  He  was  ordained 
priest  by  Archbishop  Hughes,  August  17,  1854, 
was  made  assistant  at  old  St.  Patrick's  Cathe 
dral,  the  Archbishop's  chaplain,  chancellor  in 
1857,  and  in  1859  secretary.  He  acquired  great 
experience  in  ecclesiastical  affairs,  and  such  was 


his  familiarity  with  the  ritual  and  ceremonies  of 
the  Church  that  his  services  were  requested  as 
Master  of  Ceremonies  on  many  important  occa 
sions  at  home  and  in  other  Dioceses. 

On  the  failure  of  Bishop  Conroy's  health, 
Father  McNeirny  was  appointed  co-adjutor  of 
Albany,  and  consecrated  at  New  York  by  Arch 
bishop  McCloskey,  April  21,  1872,  as  Bishop  of 
Rhesena.  On  January  18,  1874,  the  adminis 
tration  of  the  Diocese  was  placed  in  his  hands, 
and  on  the  resignation  of  Bishop  Conroy  he  be 
came  Bishop  of  Albany  on  October  16,  1877. 
In  the  same  year  that  Bishop  McNeirny  went  to 
Albany,  1872,  the  Diocese  of  Ogdensburg  was 
carved  out  of  it,  and  in  1887  that  of  Syracuse. 
Notwithstanding  this,  the  churches,  priests  and 
institutions  have  increased  in  numbers  and 
prosperity  under  Bishop  McNeirny.  He  identi 
fies  himself  with  every  good  work  and  want  of 
his  Diocese.  In  his  Cathedral  the  imposing  cer 
emonies  of  the  church  are  rendered  with  unusual 
grandeur  and  effect.  Under  his  energetic  ad 
ministration  the  Diocese  and  its  works  are  pro 
gressing  and  prospering. 


(76) 


RIGHT  REV.  WINAND  WIGGER,  D.D. 


THIRD  BISHOP  OF  NEWARK. 


N  Bishop  Wigger  we 
have  ari  example  of 
what  zeal  can  accom 
plish  for  the  honor 
and  glory  of  God. 
Though  not  of  the 
most  robust  health  his 
labor  has  never  slack 
ened  in  doing  good 
and  in  serving  his 
priests  and  people.  He  was  born  in  New  York 
city  on  December  9,  1841,  of  parents  from  West 
phalia.  His  academic  course  was  made  at  St. 
Francis  Xavier's  College,  New  York,  whose 
alumni  at  his  elevation  to  the  Episcopate  mani 
fested  great  joy.  Pious  from  youth  and  passing 
through  the  exposures  to  which  boys  in  New 
York  are  particularly  subjected  with  an  unsullied 
heart,  he  embraced  the  holy  ministry  entirely 
from  the  promptings  of  his  own  mind,  guided 
by  inward  grace.  He  began  his  theological 
studies  at  Seton  Hall  College,  New  Jersey,  of 
which  he  is  now  President.  He  next  entered 
the  Divinity  College  of  Brignoli  Sale,  at  Genoa, 
where,  receiving  the  Degree  of  Doctor,  he  was 
ordained  in  1864  and  returned  to  the  Diocese 
of  Newark. 

His  first  service  was  as  assistant  at  the  Cathe 
dral,  and  subsequently  he  was  for  many  years 
pastor  of  St.  Vincent's  Church  at  Madison,  New 
Jersey.  When  the  financial  condition  of  St. 
John's  Church  at  Orange  became  so  desperate, 
Dr.  Wigger  was  designated  as  the  priest  well 
able  to  extricate  it,  but  he  declined  the  task 


on  account  of  his  health.  His  pastoral  duties 
and  labors  at  Madison  were  zealous,  able  and 
untiring.  He  is  a  fine  theologian,  scholar  and 
linguist,  yet  modest,  simple  and  unassuming. 

When  the  Diocese  of  Newark  was  divided  into 
the  Dioceses  of  Newark  and  Trenton,  in  1881, 
Bishop  Corrigan  became  co-adj utor  of  New  York. 
Dr.  Wigger  was  appointed  Bishop  of  Newark, 
and  was  consecrated  at  the  Newark  Cathedral  by 
Archbishop  Corrigan  on  October  18,  1881,  the  as 
sistant  prelates  being  Bishops  McQuaid  and 
Loughlin.  He  labored  from  the  moment  of  his 
consecration  with  missionary  zeal.  He  commenced 
the  canonical  visitations  of  his  Diocese,  and  elo 
quently  enjoined  upon  his  people  the  practice  of 
temperance  and  respect  for  the  marriage  tie. 
He  visited  frequently  every  part  of  his  Diocese, 
giving  confirmation  and  reviving  fervor  and  dis 
cipline.  He  removed  the  New  Jersey  Catholic  Pro 
tectory  from  Dover  to  the  spacious  grounds  of 
Arlington,  near  Newark,  and  fostered  the  institu 
tion.  He  accepted  the  Presidency  of  Seton  Hall 
College,  and,  taking  up  his  residence  there,  has 
done  much  for  the  college.  No  Bishop  is  or  could 
be  more  free  from  the  bias  of  nationality,  and 
his  impartial  justice  is  admired  by  all  just  men. 
He  has  put  the  Decrees  of  the  Third  Plenary 
Council  of  Baltimore  into  operation,  has  estab 
lished  discipline,  and  is  a  model  to  his  priests. 
He  preaches  in  several  languages,  and  when  dedi 
cating  a  church  for  the  Italians  addresses  them 
in  their  own  language.  He  is  adding  new 
churches,  schools  and  institutions  constantly  to 
his  Diocese. 


(77) 


RIGHT  REV.   BERNARD  JOSEPH   McQUAID,  D.  D. 


FIRST   BISHOP  OF   ROCHESTER. 


ISHOP  McQUAID  was 
born  in  New  York, 
where  he  made  his  first 
studies  in  one  of  its 
schools ;  afterwards  at 
Chambly  and  at  the 
Sulpitian  College  of 
Montreal.  He  studied 
neology  at  St.  Joseph's 
Theological  Seminary  at  Fordham,  founded  by 
Archbishop  Hughes,  and  received  ordination 
from  that  Prelate  on  January  18,  1848.  His 
first  missionary  service  was  at  the  Church  of  St. 
Vincent  de  Paul,  at  Madison,  New  Jersey,  having 
also  charge  of  St.  Mary's  congregation  at 
Morristown,  at  both  which  places  he  is  kindly 
remembered.  In  1853  New  Jersey  was  formed 
into  a  separate  Diocese,  and  Father  McQuaid 
was  appointed  first  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's  Cathe 
dral  at  Newark.  In  1856  he  was  appointed  first 
President  of  Seton  Hall  College.  Resuming 
his  pastoral  charge  of  the  Cathedral,  his  services 
and  abilities  were  widely  felt  and  appreciated. 
In  1859  he  returned  to  South  Orange  and  again 
presided  over  the  college,  which  contained  both 
academic  and  theological  departments.  He  was 
the  founder  of  the  Young  Men's  Catholic  Asso 
ciation  of  Newark,  and  iinder  his  kind  patron 
age  and  energetic  direction  the  Catholic  Institute 
building  was  erected.  From  1866  he  served  also 
as  Vicar-General  of  Archbishop  Bayley.  His 
services  to  the  Diocese,  and  to  the  cause  of 
religion,  were  great. 

In  1868  the  Diocese  of  Rochester,  embracing 


the  counties  of  Monroe,  Livingston,  Wayne, 
Ontario,  Seneca,  Cayuga,  Yates  and  Tompkins, 
of  the  State  of  New  York,  was  formed.  Dr.  Mc 
Quaid  was  appointed  its  first  Bishop,  and  was 
consecrated  on  July  i2th  of  that  year. 

Bishop  McQuaid  formed  and  completed  the 
organization  of  the  new  Diocese  with  characteristic 
energy,  zeal  and  ability.  He  publicly  and  ably 
pleaded  the  cause  of  Catholic  rights,  and  showed 
the  injustice  of  public  taxes  exacted  from  Cath 
olics  for  a  system  which  they  could  not  accept 
for  their  own  children,  and  the  double  burden 
they  had  to  carry  in  supporting  two  systems  of 
schools.  He  became  a  powerful  advocate  of  free 
dom  of  worship  in  public  and  penal  institu 
tions,  and  especially  for  the  young  confined  in 
reformatories  and  asylums.  He  advocated 
legislation  for  this  end. 

Dr.  McQuaid  took  an  important  part  in  the 
Second  and  Third  National  or  Plenary  Councils 
of  Baltimore,  and  in  the  latter  was  appointed  to 
deliver  the  public  sermon  on  "  The  Catholic 
Church  in  the  United  States."  He  attended 
the  CEcumenical  Council  of  the  Vatican,  and  was 
a  warm  advocate  of  the  dogma  of  Papal  Infalli 
bility.  He  has  added  to  the  increasing  outfit  of 
the  Diocese  in  priests,  churches  and  institutions, 
and  founded  the  Preparatory  Theological  Semi 
nary  of  St.  Andrew,  which  has  sent  good  students 
to  the  Provincial  Seminary  at  Troy.  Bishop 
McQuaid  is  much  respected  in  Rome,  and  is 
regarded  as  one  of  the  foremost  of  American 
Prelates.  He  is  a  powerful  advocate  of  discipline, 
Catholic  schools  and  temperance. 


(78) 


RIGHT   REV.    BERNARD   J.    McQUAID,    D.  D. 

Bishop  of  Rochester  N.  Y. 


RIGHT   REV.    EDGAR    P.    WADHAMS,    D.  D. 

Bishop  of  Ogdensburg. 


RIGHT   REV.    MICHAEL  JOSEPH    O'FARRELL,   D.  D. 

Bishop  of  Trenton. 


RIGHT   REV.    P.    A.    LUDDEN,    D.  D. 

Bishop  of  Syracuse.  t 


RIGHT   REV.    EDGAR   P.    WADHAMS,  D.  D. 


FIRST   BISHOP  OF  OGDENSBURG. 


ACRIFICES  made  by  Bishop 
Wadhams  in  becoming  a  Cath 
olic,  and  the  test  of  sincerity 
and  zeal  he  thus  gave,  have 
been  followed  by  earnest  and 
zealous  labors  in  the  Church 
of  his  convictions.  Born  in 
Lewis  township,  Essex  county,  New 
York,  of  Protestant  parents,  after  receiv 
ing  elementary  education  at  home,  he 
was  sent  to  Middleburg  College,  Vermont, 
where  he  graduated.  Of  an  earnest  and  pious 
mind,  he  entered  the  Protestant  ministry,  studied 
their  theology  at  the  New  York  General  Theo 
logical  Seminary,  reached  deacon's  orders  and 
was  attending  a  mission  at  Ticonderoga.  Yield 
ing  to  his  own  reasonings  and  study  and  to 
grace,  he  became  a  Catholic,  went  to  St.  Mary's 
Seminary,  Baltimore,  was  received  into  the 
Church  by  the  learned  Father  Fredet  in  June, 
1846,  and  now  aspired  with  greater  fervor  to  the 
sacred  ministry.  He  received  minor  orders  at 
Baltimore  in  1847,  an^  was  ordained  a  priest  by 
Bishop  McCloskey,  of  Albany,  in  his  pro-Ca 
thedral  of  St.  Mary's,  on  January  15,  1850.  He 
served  first  as  an  assistant,  under  Bishop  Mc 
Closkey,  of  St.  Mary's  and  in  the  new  Cathedral 


of  Albany,  of  which  latter  he  became  pastor  in 
1866.  He  was  Vicar-General  of  the  Diocese  of 
Albany.  His  zeal  and  ability  were  recognized 
by  all. 

The  new  Diocese  of  Ogdensburg  was  created 
in  1872.  Dr.  Wadhams  was  chosen  as  its  first 
Bishop,  was  consecrated  at  the  Cathedral  of  the 
Immaculate  Conception,  Albany,  by  Archbishop 
McCloskey,  on  February  1 5th  of  that  year,  and 
was  installed  in  St.  Mary's,  Ogdensburg,  on  May 
1 6,  1872.  As  the  Diocese  is  large  and  much  of 
it  is  wilderness,  Bishop  Wadhams  has  had  to 
labor  very  hard  and  with  limited  resources,  and 
he  has  labored  faithfully  and  zealously.  There 
are  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  churches,  stations 
and  chapels,  nearly  two-thirds  of  which  are  at 
tended  by  the  resident  pastors  of  other  places, 
and  seventy-five  priests.  Four  male  religious 
communities — Augustinians,  Franciscans,  Ob- 
lates  of  Mary  Immaculate,  and  Missionary 
Fathers  of  the  Sacred  Heart — and  the  Canadian 
Gray  Nuns,  Sisters  of  Mercy,  Sisters  of  St. 
Joseph,  Franciscan  Sisters,  Sisters  of  the  Holy 
Cross,  have  come  to  the  Diocese  and  are  doing 
good  service.  There  are  about  three  thousand 
children  attending  Catholic  schools,  and  there 
are  fourteen  convents  in  the  Diocese. 


(79) 


RIGHT   REV.    MICHAEL   J.    O'FARRELL,  D.  D. 


FIRST   BISHOP  OK  TRENTON. 


ANADA'S  loss  of  Dr. 
O'Farrell  was  a  gain 
to  the  United  States. 
Born  in  Limerick,  Ire 
land,  on  December  2, 
1832,  and  educated  at 
All  Hallows,  where  he 
entered  in  1848,  he 
next  proceeded  to  the 
Seminary  of  St.  Snl- 
pice,  Paris,  and  en 
joyed  there  the  benefit  of  the  learned  teaching 
of  the  celebrated  Dr.  Olier.  He  was  ordained  in 
Ireland,  August  18,  1855,  and  returning  to  Paris 
joined  the  congregation  of  St.  Sulpice.  He  was, 
on  profession  in  the  congregation,  made  Pro 
fessor  of  Dogmatic  Theology  at  Paris,  and  after 
wards  was  sent  to  Montreal,  where  he  also  taught 
theology  in  the  Sulpitian  Seminary.  He  also 
served  as  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's  Church  at  Mon 
treal  and  did  good  missionary  work.  His  elo 
quence  at  Montreal,  New  York  and  in  New  Jer 
sey  have  given  him  a  high  reputation  as  a  pulpit 
orator. 

Severing  his  connection  with  the  Sulpitians, 
he  came  to  New  York  in  the  summer  of  1869, 
was  appointed  assistant  to  Rev.  William  Quinn 
at  St.  Peter's,  subsequently  pastor  at  Rondout, 
and  on  Rev.  Mr.  Quinn  becoming  rector  of  the 
New  York  Cathedral  Father  O'Farrell  succeeded 
him  as  pastor  of  old  St.  Peter's.  He  was  an 


active  pastor  of  St.  Peter's.  He  erected  the  large 
and  complete  Parochial  School  buildings  in  his 
parish,  and  placed  the  Catholic  schools  upon  a 
solid  and  flourishing  basis.  It  was  a  common 
sight  in  that  crowded  part  of  the  city  to  see  long 
processions  of  many  hundreds  of  children  pass 
ing  from  the  schools  to  the  church.  On  the 
erection  of  the  new  See  of  Trenton  he  was  ap 
pointed  its  first  Bishop,  and  was  consecrated  on 
November  i,  1881,  at  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral, 
New  York,  by  Cardinal  McCloskey.  He  labored 
well  and  successfully  in  organizing  his  Diocese, 
selecting  St.  Mary's  Church  as  his  Cathedral, 
and  visiting  all  parts  of  his  flock,  amongst  whom 
his  fervid  eloquence  renewed  the  faith.  He 
openly  and  eloquently  advocated  freedom  of 
worship  in  State  institutions  and  accomplished 
something  in  this  field.  His  labors  were  in  a 
bigoted  part  of  the  State  and  opposition  followed 
his  zeal.  The  burning  of  St.  John's  Church  at 
Trenton  is  attributed  to  the  opposition  openly 
manifested  to  Catholics.  His  able  and  learned 
pastorals  on  Christian  marriage,  temperance  and 
other  important  subjects,  have  received  general 
and  high  recognition.  In  the  Third  Plenary 
Council  of  Baltimore  he  was  selected  to  preach 
the  public  sermon  on  "  Christian  Marriage." 
He  has  labored  to  increase  the  parochial  schools, 
institutions  of  learning  and  charity,  and  priests 
and  churches  have  multiplied.  He  supplied 
churches  to  the  many  summer  resorts  on  the  sea. 


(80) 


RIGHT  REV.  PATRICK  ANTHONY  LUDDEN,  D.  D. 


FIRST    BISHOP  OF   SYRACUSE. 


ATRICK  ANTHONY  LUD 
DEN  brings  to  the  episcopal 
office  the  ripe  experience  of  a 
long  tried  and  successful  priest, 
and  has  commenced  the  work 
of  a  new  Diocese  with  judg 
ment  and  energy.  He  was  born  in 
Ireland,  near  Castlebar,  County  Mayo, 
in  1838,  and  came  to  this  country  at 
the  age  of  eighteen  years,  after  having 
made  his  studies  at  St.  Jarlath's  Col 
lege,  Tuam.  He  was  educated  for  the 
priesthood  at  the  Sulpitian  Grand  Seminary  of 
Montreal,  and  ordained  by  Bishop  Bourget  in 
1864.  His  first  and  principal  pastoral  service 
was  at  the  Albany  Cathedral,  where  he  served 
faithfully  and  successfully  for  sixteen  years. 
During  this  period  he  was  pastor  of  the  Church 
of  Malone  for  a  few  months,  and  secretary  to 
Bishop,  afterwards  Cardinal  McCloskey.  He 
was  Chancellor  of  the  Albany  Diocese  until 
1872,  when  he  became  Rector  of  the  Cathedral, 
succeeding  Bishop  Wadhams  when  the  latter  was 
appointed  to  the  See  of  Ogdensburg.  He  was 
also  Vicar-General  of  the  Diocese,  and  in  1880 
was  appointed  pastor  of  St.  Peter's  Church, 
Troy,  and  served  there  iintil  he  himself  entered 
the  Episcopate.  His  administration  of  the 
affairs  of  the  Albany  Cathedral  was  energetic, 
fruitful  and  successful;  and  by  his  exertions 
that  fine  temple  received  its  handsome  and  costly 
marble  altar,  and  its  rich  and  beautiful  stained- 
glass  windows.  He  erected  the  commodious 
school-house  at  a  cost  of  forty  thousand  dollars. 


He  attended  the  Council  of  the  Vatican  at 
Rome,  in  1869,  as  theologian  to  the  Bishop 
of  Albany,  and  also  the  Third  Plenary  Council 
of  Baltimore,  in  1884. 

In  1877  the  new  Diocese  of  Syracuse  was 
formed  out  of  the  Diocese  of  Albany,  the  latter 
having  attained  proportions  in  point  of  numbers 
and  labors  too  great  for  a  single  Bishop.  In 
this  development  of  his  Diocese  Bishop  Mc- 
Neirny  found  Father  Ludden  his  most  efficient 
co-laborer.  The  new  Diocese  embraces  the 
counties  of  Onondaga,  Oneida,  Broome,  Che- 
nango  and  Cortland.  Father  Ludden  already 
knew  the  field  well,  and  his  appointment  as  first 
Bishop  of  Syracuse  was  received  with  universal 
satisfaction.  He  was  consecrated  by  the  Most 
Rev.  Michael  Augustine  Corrigan  on  May  i, 
1887.  He  immediately  entered  upon  his  duties 
as  Bishop,  made  St.  John's  his  Cathedral,  and 
soon  the  official  machinery  of  the  new  Diocese  was 
in  full  working  order.  The  Bishop  has  already 
at  work  the  priests'  Minor  Conventuals,  with  their 
novitiate,  convent  and  college ;  Brothers  of  the 
Christian  Schools,  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  Sisters 
of  the  Holy  Names  of  Jesus  and  Mary,  Sisters 
of  the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis,  Sisters  of  St. 
Ann,  nearly  one  hundred  churches,  chapels  and 
stations,  seventy-eight  priests,  besides  parochial 
schools,  asylums,  hospitals,  and  select  schools 
and  academies.  Bishop  Ludden  is  an  eloquent 
preacher,  and  is  personally  austere.  He  is 
much  esteemed  by  the  clergy  and  laity.  In  1882 
he  published  a  work  on  "  Church  Property." 
Church-building  is  active  in  the  Diocese. 


(81) 


COPYRIGHTED  1888.  GEBBIE  &  CO 


ORAVURE.GEBBIE  AHU6SON  CO.L?: 


MOST  REVoPATRICK.  JOHN 


HISTORY 


OF  THE 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH 


IN   THE 


UNITED  STATES 

FROM  THE  EARLIEST  PERIOD  TO  THE  PRESENT  TIME. 


WITH 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES  OF  THE  LIVING  BISHOPS. 


EMBELLISHED   WITH    83    PHOTOGRAVURE    PORTRAITS    OF   THE   AMERICAN    HIERARCHY,  STEEL  PLATES,  AND 
TYPOGRAVURE  VIEWS  OF  ALL  THE  CATHEDRAL  CHURCHES,  BESIDES  NUMEROUS  OTHER  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


EDITED    BY 

RICHARD   H.  CLARKE,  LL.  D., 

AUTHOR  OF  "THE  LIVES  OF  THE  DECEASED  BISHOPS  OF  THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES,"  ETC.,  ETC. 


TWO  VOLUMES  IN  ONE. 
VOL.  II. 

PHILADELPHIA: 

GEBBIE  &  CO.,  PUBLISHERS. 
1891. 


CONTENTS. 

VOLUME  II. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


PROVINCE  OF  PHILADELPHIA— ARCHDIOCESE  OF  PHILADELPHIA.       PROVINCE  OF  CINCINNATI-ARCHDIOCESE  OF  CINCINNATI. 


History  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Philadelphia,  and  of  the 

Suffragan    Dioceses     of    Pittsburgh,    Allegheny, 

Erie,  Scranton  and  Harrisburg  . 
Diocese  of  Pittsburgh  and  Allegheny    . 
Diocese  of  Erie   ...... 

Diocese  of  Harrisburg  .  . 

Diocese  of  Scranton     ..... 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Most    Rev.  Patrick  John  Ryan, 

D.  D.,  Second  Archbishop  of  Philadelphia    '      . 
Biographical   Sketch   of    Right   Rev.  Richard    Phelan, 

D.  D.,  Fourth  Bishop  of  Pittsburgh    . 
Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Tobias  Mullen,  D.  D., 

Third  Bishop  of  Erie 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Right   Rev.   William   O'Hara, 

D.  D.,  First  Bishop  of  Scranton 
Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Thomas  McGovern, 

D.  D.,  Second  Bishop  of  Harrisburg  . 

CHAPTER  V. 
PROVINCE  OF  BOSTON — ARCHDIOCESE  OF  BOSTON. 

History  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Boston,  and  of  the  Suf 
fragan  Diocesesof  Burlington,  Hartford,  Portland, 
Springfield,  Providence  and  Manchester 

Diocese  of  Burlington 

Diocese  of  Hartford 

Diocese  of  Portland 

Diocese  of  Springfield  ...... 

Diocese  of  Providence 

Diocese  of  Manchester          ...... 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Most  Rev.  John  Joseph  Williams, 
D.  D.,  Fourth  Bishop  and  First  Archbishop  of 
Boston  . 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Louis  De  Goesbriand, 
D.  D.,  First  Bishop  of  Burlington 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Lawrence  S.  Mc- 
Mahon,  D.  D.,  First  Bishop  of  Hartford  . 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  James  Augustine 
Healy,  D.  D.,  Second  Bishop  of  Portland,  Maine 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Matthew  J.  Harkihs, 
D.  D.,  Second  Bishop  of  Providence  . 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Dennis  M.  Bradley, 
D.  D.,  First  Bishop  of  Manchester,  New  Hamp 
shire  ........ 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Patrick  Thomas  O' 
Reilly,  D.  D.,  First  Bishop  of  Springfield,  Massa 
chusetts 

CHAPTER  VI. 
PROVINCE  OF  CHICAGO — DIOCESE  OF  CHICAGO. 

History  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Chicago,  and  of  the 
Suffragan  Dioceses  of  Alton,  Belleville  and  Peoria 

Diocese  of  Belleville 

Diocese  of  Peoria 

Diocese  of  Alton          ....... 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Most  Rev.  Patrick  A.  Feehan, 
D.  D.,  Third  Bishop  of  Nashville  and  First  Arch 
bishop  of  Chicago 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  James  Ryan,  D.  D., 
Third  Bishop  of  Alton 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  John  Janssen,  D.  D., 
First  Bishop  of  Belleville,  Illinois 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  John  Lancaster 
Spalding,  D.  D.,  First  Bishop  of  Peoria 


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47 


History  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Cincinnati,  and  of  the 

Suffragan  Dioceses  of  Cleveland,  Columbus,  Cov- 

ingtpn,    Detroit,    Fort   Wayne,   Grand    Rapids, 

Louisville,  Nashville  and  Vincennes   . 

Diocese  of  Cleveland 

Diocese  of  Columbus,  Ohio  .... 

Diocese  of  Covington  ...... 

Diocese  of  Detroit 

Diocese  of  Fort  Wayne 

Diocese  of  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan      .... 

Diocese  of  Louisville 

Diocese  of  Nashville 

Diocese  of  Vincennes 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Richard   Gilmour, 

D.  D.,  Second  Bishop  of  Cleveland    . 
Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  John  Ambrose  Watter- 

son,  D.  D.,  Second  Bishop  of  Columbus 
Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Camillus  Paul  Maes, 

D.  D.,  Third  Bishop  of  Covington 
Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  John  S.  Foley,  D.  D., 

Second  Bishop  of  Detroit  ..... 
Biographical   Sketch    of  Right  Rev.  Joseph    Dwenger, 

D.  D.,  Second  Bishop  of  Fort  Wayne 
Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Henry  Joseph.  Rich  ter, 

D.  D.,  First  Bishop  of  Grand  Rapids 
Biographical    Sketch    of  Right    Rev.    William   George 

McCloskey,  D.  D.,  Fourth  Bishop  of  Louisville  . 
Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Joseph  Rademacher, 

D.  D.,  Fourth  Bishop  of  Nashville      . 
Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Francis  Silas  Chatard, 

D.  D.,  Fifth  Bishop  of  Vincennes 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

PROVINCE  OF  MILWAUKEE — ARCHDIOCESE  OF  MILWAUKEE. 

History  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Milwaukee,  and  of  the  Suf 
fragan  Dioceses  of  Green  Bay,  La  Crosse,  Mar- 
quette  and  Sault  St.  Marie  .... 

Diocese  of  Marquette  and  Sault  St.  Marie 

Diocese  of  La  Crosse  ....... 

Diocese  of  Green  Bay 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Most  Rev.  Michael  Heiss,  D.  D., 
First  Bishop  of  La  Crosse  and  Second  Archbishop 
of  Milwaukee 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Frederick  Katzer, 
D.  D.,  Third  Bishop  of  Green  Bay  . 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Kilian  C.  Flasch, 
D.  D.,  Second  Bishop  of  La  Crosse  . 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  John  Vertin,  D.  D., 
Third  Bishop  of  Marquette  .... 

CHAPTER  IX. 

PROVINCE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS — ARCHDIOCESE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS. 
History  of  the  Archdiocese  of  New  Orleans,  and  of  the 
Suffragan   Dioceses   of  Galveston,  Little   Rock, 
Mobile,    Natchez,    Natchitoches,    San    Antonio, 
Vicariate-Apostolic  of  Brownsville,    Texas,   and 
Prefecture-Apostolic  of  the  Indian  Territory         .     77 
Diocese  of  Galveston  .......     79 

Diocese  of  Little  Rock 79 

Diocese  of  Mobile        .......     80 

Diocese  of  Natchez 81 

Diocese  of  Natchitoches        .         .         .         .         .         .82 

Diocese  of  San  Antonio 83 

Vicariate-Apostolic  of  Brownsville         .         .         .         .84 

(iii) 


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IV 


CONTENTS. 


Prefecture-Apostolic  of  the  Indian  Territory          .         .     84 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Most  Rev.  Francis  Janssens, 
D.  D.,  Fourth  Bishop  of  Natchez  and  Fifth  Arch 
bishop  of  New  Orleans  .  .  -85 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Nicholas  A.  Gallagher, 

D.  D.,  Third  Bishop  of  Galveston  .  .  86 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Edward  Fitzgerald, 

D.  D.,  Second  Bishop  of  Little  Rock  .  87 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Jeremiah  O'Sullivan, 

D.  D.,  Fourth  Bishop  of  Mobile  .  .  88 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Thomas  Heslin, 

D.  D.,  Fifth  Bishop  of  Natchez .  .  .89 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Anthony  Durier, 

D.  D.,  Third  Bishop  of  Natchitoch  s  .  .90 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  John  C.  Neraz,  D.  D., 
Second  Bishop  of  San  Antonio  and  Vicar-Apos 
tolic  of  Brownsville,  Texas  .  .  .  .  91 

CHAPTER  X. 

PROVINCE  OF  OREGON — ARCHDIOCESE  OF  OREGON  CITY. 

History  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Oregon  City,  and  of  the 
Suffragan  Dioceses  of  Helena,  Nesqually,  Van 
couver's  Island  and  the  Vicariate-Apostolic  of 

Idaho 92 

Diocese  of  Helena        .  .         ;  -94 

Diocese  of  Nesqually  .....  -94 

Diocese  of  Vancouver's  Island      .         ....     95 

Vicariate-Apostolic  of'  Idaho         .         .         .         .         .96 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Most  Rev.  William  H.  Gross, 
D.  D.,  Fifth  Bishop  of  Savannah  and  Third  Arch 
bishop  of  Oregon        ......     97 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  John  Baptist  Brondel, 

D.  D.,  First  Bishop  of  Helena,  Montana     .         .     98 
Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  John  Nicholas  Lem- 

mens,  D.  D.,  Fifth  Bishop  of  Vancouver's  Island     99 
Biographical    Sketch  of    Right    Rev.    yEgidius   Junger, 

D.  D.,  Second  Bishop  of  Nesqually      .  .     99 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  A.  J.  Glorieux,  D.  D., 

Second  Vicar-Apostolic  of  Idaho         .         .         .   100 

CHAPTER  XL 
PROVINCE  OF  ST.  Louis — ARCHDIOCESE  OF  ST.  Louis. 

History  of  the  Archdiocese  of  St.  Louis,  and  of  the  Suf 
fragan  Dioceses  of  Cheyenne,  Concordia,  Daven 
port,  Dubuque,  Kansas  City,  Leavenworth,  Lin 
coln,  Omaha  and  Wichita  .....   101 

Diocese  of  Cheyenne    .......   102 

Diocese  of  Concordia  .         .         .         .         .         .         -103 

Diocese  of  Davenport  .......   103 

Diocese  of  Dubuque     .         .         .         .         .         .         .104 

Dioceses  of  Kansas  City  and  St.  Joseph          .         .         .105 
Diocese  of  Leavenworth        ......   105 

Diocese  of  Lincoln       .         .         .         .         .         .         .106 

Diocese  of  Omaha        .         .         .         .         .         .         .106 

Diocese  of  Wichita       .......    107 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Most  Rev.  Peter  Richard  Ken- 
rick,  D.  D.,  Second  Bishop  and  First  Archbishop 
of  St.  Louis       .......    108 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.   Maurice  F.  Burke, 

D.  D.,  First  Bishop  of  Cheyenne        .         .         .109 
Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.   Richard  Scannell, 

D.  D.,  First  Bishop  of  Concordia,  Kansas   .         .   no 
Biographical   Sketch    of  Right   Rev.  Henry  Cosgrove, 

D.  D.,  Second  Bishop  of  Davenport  .         .         .in 
Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  John  Hennessy,  D.  D., 

Third  Bishop  of  Dubuque.         .         .         .         .112 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  John  Joseph  Hogan, 
D.  D.,  First   Bishop   of  Kansas   City  and   First 
Bishop  of  St.  Joseph's        .         .         .         .         .   113 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Louis  Maria  Fink, 

O.  S.  B.,  D.  D.,  First  Bishop  of  Leavenworth     .   114 


Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Thomas  Bonacum, 

D.  D.,  First  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  Nebraska  .  .  115 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  James  O'Connor, 

D.  D.,  First  Bishop  of  Omaha  .  .  .  .116 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  John  J.  Hennessy, 

D.  D.,  Second  Bishop  of  Wichita,  Kansas  .  .117 

CHAPTER  XII. 

PROVINCE  OF  ST.  PAUL — ARCHDIOCESE  OF  ST.  PAUL. 
Historyof  the  Archdioceseof  St.  Paul,  and  of  the  Suffragan 
Dioceses  of  Winona,  St.   Cloud,  Duluth,  James 
town  and  Sioux  Falls          .         .         .         .         .118 

Diocese  of  Duluth        .         .         .         .         .         .         .119 

Diocese  of  Jamestown .         .         .         .         .         .         .120 

Diocese  of  St.  Cloud,  Minn.       • 120 

Diocese  of  Sioux  Falls,  S.  D 121 

Diocese  of  Winona,  Minn.  .         .         .  .122 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Most  Rev.  John  Ireland,  D.  D., 

Third  Bishop  and  First  Archbishop  of  St.  Paul   .    123 
Biographical   Sketch   of  Right  Rev.  James  McGolrick, 

D.  D.,  First  Bishop  of  Duluth     .         .         .         .124 
Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  John  Shanley,  D.  D., 

First  Bishop  of  Jamestown          .         .  .   125 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Otto  Zardetti,  D.  D., 

First  Bishop  of  St.  Cloud 126 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Martin  Marty,  O.  S.  B., 

D.  D.,  First  Bishop  of  Sioux  Falls      .         .         .127 
Biographical    Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Joseph  B.   Cotter, 

D.  D.,  First  Bishop  of  Winona  .         .         .         .128 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

PROVINCE  OF  SANTA  FE — ARCHDIOCESE  OF  SANTA  FE. 
History  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Santa  Fe,  and  of  the  Suf 
fragan  See  of  Denver  and  Vicariate-Apostolic  of 
Arizona     .         .         .         .         .         .         •         .129 

Diocese  of  Denver        .         .         .         .         .         •         .130 

Vicariate-Apostolic  of  Arizona      .  .         .         .   131 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Most  Rev.  John  B.   Salpointe, 

D.  D.,  Second  Archbishop  of  Santa  F6        .         .   132 
Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.   Nicholas  C.  Matz, 

D.  D.,  Second  Bishop  of  Denver         .         .         -133 
Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  P.  Bourgade,  D.  D., 

Second  Vicar- Apostolic  of  Arizona     .         .         -134 

CHAPTER   XIV. 

PROVINCE  orSAN  FRANCISCO— ARCHDIOCESEOF  SAN  FRANCISCO. 
History  of  the  Archdiocese  of  San  Francisco,  and  of  the 
Suffragan  Dioceses  of  Monterey  and  Los  Angeles, 
Sacramento,    and    Vicariate-Apostolic    of   Utah 
Territory  ........   135 

Diocese  of  Monterey  and  Los  Angeles  .         .         .         .136 

Diocese  of  Sacramento 137 

Vicariate-Apostolic  of  Utah 138 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Most  Rev.  Patrick  William  Rior- 

dan,  D.  D.,  Second  Archbishop  of  San  Francisco  139 
Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Francis  Mora,  D.  D., 

Third  Bishop  of  Monterey  and  Los  Angeles          .   140 
Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.    Patrick   Manogue, 
D.  D.,  Second  Bishop  of  Grass  Valley  and  First 
Bishop  of  Sacramento         .          .  .  I41 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Right  Rev.  Lawrence  Scanlan, 

D.  D.,  First  Vicar-Apostolic  of  Utah  Territory   .   142 

APPENDIX. 

The  Mitred  Abbots 143 

The  Bahama  Islands     .         .         .         .         .         .         .  143 

The   Vicariate-Apostolic   of  the   Sandwich  (Hawaiian) 

Islands 144 

The  Centenary  of  the  American  Church — 1789-1889     .  144 

The  First  American  Catholic  Lay  Congress   .         .         .  145 

The  Opening  of  the  American  Catholic  University         .  146 
"  Baltimore  Day "        .         .         .       '/       .         .          .146 


ILLUSTRATIONS-VOL.  II. 


PHOTOGRAVURE  PORTRAITS  OF  THE  ARCHBISHOPS. 


1  MOST  REV.  PATRICK  JOHN  RYAN,  D.  D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  PHILADELPHIA,  PA 

2  MOST  REV.  JOHN  JOSEPH  WILLIAMS,  D.  D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  BOSTON,  MASS 

3  MOST  REV.  PATRICK  A.  FEEHAN,  D.  D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  CHICAGO,  ILL 

4  MOST  REV.  WILLIAM  ELDER,  D.  D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  CINCINNATI,  OHIO 

5  MOST  REV.  FREDERICK  KATZKK,  I).  I).,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  MILWAUKEE,  Wis.  .... 

6  MOST  REV.  FRANCIS  JANSSENS,  D.  D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  NEW  ORLEANS,  LA 

7  MOST  REV.  WILLIAM  GROSS,  D.  D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  OREGON  CITY    . 

8  MOST  REV.  RICHARD  KENRICK,  D.  D. ,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  ST.  Louis,  Mo 

9  MOST  REV.  JOHN  IRELAND,  ST.  PAUL,  MINN.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  ST.  PAUL,  MINN 

10  MOST  REV.  JOHN  B.  SALPOINTE,  D.  D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  SANTA  FE,  NEW  MEXICO  .        .        .        . 

11  MOST  REV.  PATRICK  WILLIAM  RIORDAN,  D.  D.,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO,  CAL. 

TYPOGRAVURE  PORTRAITS  OF  THE  BISHOPS. 


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1  RIGHT  REV.  RICHARD  PHELAN,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  PITTSBURGH,  PA.  . 

2  RIGHT  REV.  TOBIAS  MULLEN,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  ERIE,  PA.      .        .        .    •    . 

3  RIGHT  REV.  WILLIAM  O'HARA,  D.  D., 

BISHOP   OF  SCRANTON,  PA. 

4  RIGHT  REV.  THOMAS  McGovERN,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  HARRISBURG,  PA. 

5  RIGHT  REV.  Louis  DE  GOESBRIAND,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  BURLINGTON,  VT. 

6  RIGHT  REV.  LAWRENCE  S.  MCMAHON,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  HARTFORD,  CONN. 

7  RIGHT  REV.  JAMES  AUGUSTINE  HEALY,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  PORTLAND,  ME.     .        .        , 

8  RIGHT  REV.  MATTHEW  J.  HARKINS,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  PROVIDENCE,  R.  I. 

9  RIGHT  REV.  DENIS  M.  BRADLEY,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  MANCHESTER,  N.  H.    . 

10  RIGHT  REV.  THOMAS  O'REILLY,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  SPRINGFIELD,  ILL. 

11  RIGHT  REV.  JAMES  RYAN,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  ALTON,  ILL.  .'      . 

12  RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  JANSSEN,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  BELLEVILLE,  ILL. 

13  RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  LANCASTER  SPALDING,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  PEORIA,  ILL. 

14  RIGHT  REV.  RICHARD  GILMOUR,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  CLEVELAND,  OHIO 

15  RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  AMBROSE  WATTERSON,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  COLUMBUS,  OHIO  . 

16  RIGHT  REV.  CAMILLUS  PAUL  MAES,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF   COVINGTON,  KY.     . 

17  RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  S.  FOLEY,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  DETROIT,  MICH.    . 

18  RIGHT  REV.  JOSEPH  DWENGER,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  FORT  WAYNE,  IND. 

19  RIGHT  REV.  HENRY  JOSEPH  RICHTER,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  GRAND  RAPIDS,  MICH. 

20  RIGHT  REV.  WILLIAM  GEORGE  MCCLOSKEY,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  LOUISVILLE,  KY.  . 

21  RIGHT  REV.  JOSEPH  RADEMACHER,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  NASHVILLE,  TENN. 

22  RIGHT  REV.  FRANCIS  SILAS  CHATARD,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  VINCENNES,  IND.  . 

23  MOST  REV.  MICHAEL  HEISS,  D.  D.  (Deceased) 

ARCHBISHOP  OF  MILWAUKKE,  Wis. 

24  RIGHT  REV.  KILIAN  C.  FLASCH,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  LA  CROSSE,  Wis.  . 

25  RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  VERTIN,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  MARQUETTE,  MICH. 

26  RIGHT  REV.  NICHOLAS  A.  GALLAGHER,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  GALVESTON,  TEX. 


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27  RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD  FITZGERALD,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  LITTLE  ROCK,  ARK.     . 

28  RIGHT  REV.  JEREMIAH  O'SULLIVAN,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  MOBILE,  ALA.        .        .     •  . 

29  RIGHT  REV.  THOMAS  HESLIN,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  NATCHEZ,  Miss 

30  RIGHT  REV.  ANTHONY  DURIER,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  NATCHITOCHES,  LA. 

31  RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  C.  NERAZ,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  SAN  ANTONIO,  TEX. 

32  RIGHT  REV.  ^GIDIUS  JUNGER,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  NESQUALLY,  WASHINGTON  . 

33  RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  BAPTIST  BRONDEL,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  HELENA,  MONT 

34  RIGHT  REV.  A.  J.  GLORIEUX,  D.  D., 

VICAR  APOSTOLIC  OF  IDAHO  .        .        .        . 

35  RIGHT  REV.  MAURICE  F.  BURKE,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  CHEYENNE,  WYOMING  TER. 

36  RIGHT  REV.  RICHARD  SCANNELL,  D.  D.  Formerly 

of  Concordia,  Kan.,  now  BISHOP  OF  OMAHA,  NEB. 

37  RIGHT  REV.  HENRY  COSGROVE,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  DAVENPORT,  IOWA 

38  RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  HENNESSY,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  DUBUQUE,  IOWA     .        .        .        . 

39  RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  JOSEPH  HOGAN,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  KANSAS  CITY,  Mo.        .        .       . 

40  RIGHT  REV.  Louis  MARIA  FINK,  O.  S.  B.,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  LEAVENWORTH,  KAN.  . 

41  RIGHT  REV.  THOMAS  BONACUM,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  LINCOLN,  NEB 

42  RIGHT  REV.  JAMES  O'CONNOR,  D.  D.  (Deceased)  . 

BISHOP  OF  OMAHA,  NEB 

43  RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  J.  HENNESSY,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  WICHITA,  KAN.      .       . 

44  RIGHT  REV.  JAMES  MCGOLRICK,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  DULUTH,  MINN 

45  RIGHT  REV.  OTTO  ZARDETTI,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  ST.  CLOUD,  MINN.         .       .       t 

46  RIGHT  REV.  MARTIN  MARTY,  O.  S.  B.,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  Sioux  FALLS,  SOUTH  DAK.    .  •     •. 

47  RIGHT  REV.  JOSEPH  B.  COTTER,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  WINONA,  MINN 

48  RIGHT  REV.  NICHOLAS  C.  MATZ,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  DENVER,  COL.      .       . 

49  RIGHT  REV.  FRANCIS  MORA,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  MONTEREY  AND  Los  ANGELES, 
CAL 

50  RIGHT  REV.  PATRICK  MANOGUE,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  SACRAMENTO,  CAL. 
• 

51  RIGHT  REV.  LAWRENCE  SCANLAN,  D.  D., 

VICAR-APOSTOLIC  OF  UTAH  TERRITORY 

(v) 


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Cathedral  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
PROVINCE  OF  PHILADELPHIA. 

History  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Philadelphia,  and  of  the  Suffragan  Dioceses  of  Pittsburgh  and  Allegheny,  Erie,  Scranton  and 

Harrisburg. 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  PHILADELPHIA. 


|HE  See  of  Philadelphia  was 
created  by  Pope  Pius  VII.  by 
Bulls  of  April  8, 1808,  with  boun 
daries  embracing  the  States 
of  Pennsylvania  and  Delaware 
and  the  western  and  southern 
portion  of  the  State  of  New 
Jersey.  Upon  the  recommen 
dation  of  Archbishop  Carroll,  Rev.  Patrick 
Michael  Egan,  of  the  Order  of  St.  Francis,  who 
had  served  with  Father  De  Earth  at  Lancaster, 
and  was  then  pastor  of  St.  Mary's  Church, 
Philadelphia,  was  appointed  first  Bishop.  He 
was  consecrated  at  St.  Peter's  pro-Cathedral, 
Baltimore,  by  Archbishop  Carroll,  on  Sunday, 


October  28,  1810.  Rev.  William  Viacent  Harold, 
of  the  Order  of  St.  Dominic,  his  assistant 
at  St.  Mary's  Church,  preached  the  consecra 
tion  sermon.  Prior  to  the  consecration  the 
Archbishop  addressed  a  letter  to  the  trustees  of 
the  churches  in  Philadelphia,  pointing  out  to 
them  the  necessity  of  making  provision  for  the 
support  of  the  Bishop  of  Philadelphia,  where 
upon  the  trustees  of  St.  Mary's,  Holy  Trinity, 
and  Rev.  Mr.  Hurly  for  the  Augustinians,  agreed 
together  by  resolution  to  allow  the  Bishop  a 
salary  of  $800  a  year,  payable  quarterly  in  ad 
vance,  of  which  St.  Mary's  would  pay  $400, 
Holy  Trinity  $200  and  St.  Augustine's  $200,  and 
to  pay  in  like  manner  the  expenses  of  his  con- 

(0 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  PHILADELPHIA. 


secration  and  installation.  The  trustees  also 
resolved,  in  consideration  of  there  being  two 
associate  priests  with  the  Bishop  at  St.  Mary's, 
that  Bishop  Egan  should  receive  the  whole  of 
the  church  collections,  estimated  at  $500,  and 
the  further  sum  of  $1600,  "  payable  in  the  same 
order  as  provided  for  him  as  Bishop  by  the  com 
mittees  of  the  different  congregations,  it  being 
at  the  same  time  understood  and  agreed  that 
the  trustees  reserve  to  themselves  the  exclusive 
right  to  the  pew  rents  ;  that,  in  case  there  were 
not  two  associate  priests,  a  deduction  at  the  rate 
of  $500  a  year  should  be  made  for  the  time  of 
vacancy."  Each  assistant  priest  was  to  receive 
$200  for  his  service  over  and  above  his  board 
and  incidental  expenses.  The  provision  and 
agreement  were  accepted  by  the  Bishop  and 
clergy.  The  pastors  of  St.  Mary's  in  1809,  after 
Dr.  Egan's  appointment,  but  before  his  conse 
cration,  were  Rev.  Michael  Egan,  O.  S.  F.,  Rev. 
William  Vincent  Harold,  O.  S.  D.,  and  Rev. 
John  Rossiter,  O.  S.  A. ;  thus  a  Franciscan,  a 
Dominican  and  an  Augustinian  were  working 
together  as  pastors  of  the  same  church.  Prior  to 
the  consecration  of  the  Bishop,  the  Rev.  Fathers 
Egan,  Harold  and  Rossiter  and  the  trustees  of 
St.  Mary's  resolved  to  enlarge  the  church,  and 
a  subscription  list  was  started  and  an  appeal 
made  to  the  pew  holders  by  circular,  and  every 
subscriber  of  $100  was  entitled  to  one  of  the 
new  pews,  preference  to  be  given  according  to 
amount  subscribed.  Rev.  John  Rossiter  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  James  Harold,  and  the  Rev. 
Messrs  Harold,  uncle  and  nephew,  were  the 
assistants  of  Bishop  Conwell.  The  younger 
Harold  was  an  orator  of  surpassing  eloquence. 

The  first  act  of  the  Bishop  was  to  unite  with 
Archbishop  Carroll  and  the  other  Bishops  in  a 
Pastoral  Letter,  and  the  second  was  to  visit  his 
Diocese,  which  he  did  with  zeal  and  good  results. 
On  his  return  from  the  visitation  of  the  Diocese, 
Bishop  Egan  found  the  trustees  disaffected  and 
disloyal,  and  a  hostile  combination  entered  into 
against  him  and  his  rightful  authority.  The 
enlargement  of  the  church  became  a  subject  of 
contention,  and  the  trustees  claimed  the  right  to 
select  their  own  pastors ;  and  they  violated  most 
shamefully  the  agreement  they  had  entered  into 
for  the  payment  of  the  expenses  of  the  Bishop's 
consecration  and  of  the  salary  of  the  Bishop. 


The  Bishop  could  not  sanction  such  measures, 
nor  approve  of  such  pretensions.  To  fill  the 
measure  of  his  sorrows,  the  two  Messrs  Harold, 
uncle  and  nephew,  took  sides  against  him,  and 
while  he  had  relied  on  them,  they  proved  both 
ungrateful  and  insubordinate.  The  Bishop's 
health  began  to  fail  under  his  accumulated 
sorrows,  and  he  lacked  health  and  firmness 
enough  to  cope  with  his  difficulties.  The  two 
Harolds  resigned  in  1813,  and  William  Vincent 
went  to  Lisbon  and  became  Prior  of  the  Do 
minican  Convent  there.  One  of  the  Bishop's  last 
acts  was  the  endeavor  to  get  the  Sisters  of 
Charity  to  take  charge  of  the  orphans  of  the 
Diocese ;  he  had  visited  the  Sisterhood  at  Em- 
mittsburg  immediately  after  his  consecration, 
and  was  endeavoring  to  get  all  things  ready  for 
their  reception  at  Philadelphia,  but  he  did  not 
live  to  see  this  accomplished.  Had  he  reso 
lutely  resisted  the  trustees  he  might  have  ousted 
them  from  the  possession  of  the  church  property, 
for  the  title  was  not  vested  in  them ;  they  were 
merely  incorporated  to  manage  the  temporalities 
of  the  congregation.  The  good  Bishop's  health 
never  rallied ;  he  died  on  July  22,  1814. 

Philadelphia  possessed  two  of  the  earliest 
schools  in  the  United  States.  On  March  6, 1807, 
Rev.  Francis  Xavier  Brosius,  the  learned  and 
zealous  priest  who  accompanied  Prince  Gallitzin 
to  America  in  1792,  opened  a  classical  school  or 
seminary  at  Mount  Airy,  near  Philadelphia, 
which  continued  its  classes  until  1813,  when  it 
became  a  private  academy,  and  so  continued  to  a 
date  subsequent  to  1834.  In  1809  a  free  school 
was  founded  at  St.  Mary's,  which  was  enlarged 
in  iSiowith  a  legacy  received  from  the  estate  of 
William  Mulcahy. 

The  first  administrator  of  the  See  of  Philadel 
phia,  after  the  death  of  Bishop  Egan,  was  the 
Very  Rev.  Louis  De  Barth.  The  American 
Bishops  recommended  Rev.  John  B.  David,  after 
wards  Bishop  of  Bardstown  and  co-adjutor  of 
Bishop  Flaget,  but  he  declined  to  be  considered  for 
the  appointment.  There  was  made  a  great  effort 
and  influence  at  Rome  by  his  adherents  in  Phila 
delphia  and  some  of  the  Irish  Bishops  to  secure 
the  appointment  of  Rev.  William  V.  Harold, 
whose  appointment  was  opposed  by  Archbishop 
Carroll  on  the  ground  of  his  having  contributed 
to  shorten  the  days  of  Bishop  Egan,  and  re- 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  PHILADELPHIA. 


jected  by  Rome  on  account  of  his  unworthiness. 
Father  De  Earth  was  chosen  for  the  See  of  Phila 
delphia,  but  he  twice  declined  the  appointment, 
and  on  the  last  occasion  returned  to  Rome  the 
Bulls  for  his  investiture.     During  the  vacancy 
of  the  See  the  rebellious  trustees  of  St.  Mary's 
addressed  a  rude  and  insulting  letter  to  Arch 
bishop  Carroll,  who  replied  thereto  in  terms  at 
once  dignified  and  stern.     Finally  the  See  of 
Philadelphia  was  filled  in   1820  by  the  appoint 
ment  of  Very  Rev.  Henry  Conwell,  Vicar-Gen 
eral  of  Armagh,  Ireland,  who  received  consecra 
tion  at  London  from  Bishop  Poynter,  being  then 
seventy-three  years  old.     Bishop  Conwell  arrived 
in   Philadelphia  towards  the  close  of  the  year 
1820,  not  knowing  the  history  of  the  schism  of 
St.   Mary's   Church,  which   had   distracted   the 
Diocese  of  Philadelphia  and  shortened  the  life  of 
his    predecessor.     At   this   time,    Rev.  William 
Hogan,  a  young  clergyman  from   Ireland,  had 
been  appointed  temporarily  pastor  of  St.  Mary's 
by    Father    De  Barth,    the   administrator.     His 
moral  conduct  and  character  were  soon  discovered 
by  the  Bishop  to  be  bad,  and  he  was  suspended, 
which  caused  a  prolonged  and  bitter  strife  be 
tween  the  Bishop  and  the  friends  of  Hogan,  the 
trustees  of  St.  Mary's  Church,  who  ultimately 
discovered  how  unworthy  Hogan  had  been  of 
their  advocacy. 

Bishop  Conwell,  worn  out  by  the  trials  and 
difficulties  of  his  position,  after  a  long  controversy 
came  to  terms  with  the  trustees  of  St.  Mary's, 
which  he  thought  would  secure  the  rights  of  the 
Church,  bring  peace  to  his  distracted  Diocese  and 
secure  himself  from  the  repetition  of  the  insults 
he  had  endured  for  years.  By  this  treaty  the 
Bishop  was  recognized  as  the  senior  pastor  of  the 
church,  with  the  right  to  appoint  two  assistants  ; 
but  in  case  the  trustees  objected  to  the  Bishop's 
appointees,  and  the  Bishop  insisted,  a  committee 
should  be  appointed,  consisting  of  the  Bishop 
and  two  ecclesiastics  appointed  by  him,  and  three 
laymen  appointed  by  the  trustees,  and  the  Bishop 
bound  himself  to  respect  their  decision  ;  in  case 
the  committee  did  not  agree,  two  arbitrators  were 
to  be  appointed,  and  their  decision  should  be 
final.  At  the  same  time  the  trustees  presented 
to  the  Bishop  and  he  received  from  them  a  pro 
test,  declaring  that  they  did  not  abandon  their 
rights,  and  would  claim  hereafter  at  Rome  that 


no  Bishop  should  be  appointed  for  the  Diocese 
without  the  recommendation  and  approbation  of 
the  clergy  of  the  Diocese.     The  Bishop,  by  letter 
of  October    u,   1826,    announced    an    amnesty, 
the  church  was  freed  from    the  interdict,  and 
then,  with  the  consent  of  the  trustees,  he  ap 
pointed  Rev.  William  Vincent  Harold  and  Rev. 
Thomas  Hayden  pastors  of  St.  Mary's.      The 
salaries  were  left  to  the  trustees  to  fix,  and  the 
Bishop  relinquished  all  arrearages  of  his  own 
salary.     But  the  peace  did  not  last.     Rev.  Mr. 
Harold,  yielding  to  an  impetuous  temper,  openly 
treated  the  Bishop,  to  whom  he  owed  the  long- 
coveted  appointment,  with  disrespect  and  even 
contempt.      The    clergy   of  the    Diocese    were 
greatly  dissatisfied  with  the  concessions  made  by 
the  Bishop,  and  a  copy  was  sent  to  Rome.     The 
Propaganda  examined  the  terms  of  the  delusive 
treaty   of  peace,    and   on  April   30,    1827,   Pro~ 
nounced  it  a  violation  of  ecclesiastical  authority, 
and  declared   it   null    and  void.      The    Bishop 
nobly  and  humbly  submitted  to  the  decision  of 
his  superiors,  and  by  Pastoral  of  July  22,  1827, 
declared  the  agreement,  condemned  at  Rome,  as 
null  and  void.     Father  Hayden  requested  per 
mission  to  return  to  his  country  parish,  and  Rev. 
John  Hughes  was  called  from  Bedford  to  Phila 
delphia,    and   resided    with    the    Bishop   at    St. 
Joseph's,  which  the  Bishop  had  resolved  to  erect 
into   a   separate   parish.      The   trustees   of  St. 
Mary's  did  not  submit  to  the  voice  of  Rome  as 
the    Bishop   had   done.     Mr.    Harold   was   sus 
pended,  but  before  taking  this  step  the  Bishop 
weakly  asked  the  clergy  of  the  city  to  sanction 
the  step ;   Mr.  Hughes  declined  to  do  s'o  from 
prudential  reasons,  and  because  it  was  expected 
that  the  Bishop  intended  to  make  him  pastor  of 
St.  Mary's ;  but  he  signed  a  private  document 
with  two  other  priests,  condemnatory  of  Harold, 
when  the  contents  of  this  last  document  became 
known,  Harold  sued  him  for  libel ;  but  the  suit 
was  not  prosecuted  further.     On  the  removal  of 
Harold,  Rev.  John  Hughes  was  appointed  pastor 
of   the    church,    and    he    accepted    it    only    on 
the    positive    command    of    his    Ordinary ;    the 
trustees  made  no  open  opposition,  but  intimated 
their  intention  of  paying  no  salaries  to  him  or 
his    assistant,    Father   O'Reilly.     Finally    Rev. 
Messrs.  Hughes  and  O'Reilly  voluntarily  retired 
from  St.  Mary's.     Bishop  Conwell  was  invited 


ARCHDIOCESE   OF   PHILADELPHIA. 


to  go  to  Rome  and  instructed  to  turn  over  the 
administration  to  Archbishop  Marechal  of  Balti 
more.  But  as  the  Archbishop  was  then  on  his 
death-bed,  and  died  on  January  28,  1828,  the 
Bishop  delayed  his  departure  for  Rome,  reap- 
pointed  Harold  pastor  of  St.  Mary's,  with  Rev. 
John  Ryan,  another  Dominican,  as  his  assistant, 
still  hoping  that  this  would  produce  peace.  But 
in  vain.  Both  Harold  and  Ryan  were  guilty  of 
several  acts  of  insubordination.  Finally  Car 
dinal  Capellari,  on  March  9,  1828,  sent  letters  to 
Rev.  William  Matthews,  of  Washington,  ap 
pointing  him  administrator  of  the  Diocese  of 
Philadelphia,  requesting  him  to  send  to  Bishop 
Conwell  a  letter  again  requesting  him  to  go  to 
Rome,  and  to  send  to  Messrs.  Harold  and  Ryan 
letters  of  the  Dominican  Visitor-General  order 
ing  them  to  leave  Philadelphia  and  repair  to  the 
Dominican  Convent  in  Ohio.  Bishop  Conwell 
went  to  Rome,  and  Rev.  William  Matthews  took 
the  administration  into  his  hands.  Messrs. 
Harold  and  Ryan  withdrew  from  St.  Mary's,  but, 
declining  to  go  to  Ohio,  had  the  hardihood  to 
invoke  the  interference  of  the  administration  at 
Washington  against  the  authority  assumed  over 
them  by  a  foreign  potentate  (meaning  the  Pope) ; 
a  correspondence  was  had  between  Mr.  Clay, 
Secretary  of  State,  and  the  American  Minister 
at  Paris ;  but,  upon  the  latter  communicating  to 
the  administration  a  true  state  of  the  affair  as 
received  by  him  from  the  Papal  Nuncio  at  Paris, 
the  administration  dropped  the  matter. 

Bishop  Conwell  spent  eight  or  ten  months  in 
Rome,  but  he  became  alarmed  on  receiving  from 
Cardinal  Capellari  the  recommendation  not  to 
return  to  his  Diocese,  or  at  least  not  until  affairs 
had  quieted  down,  and  feared  that  he  might  be  re 
strained  from  returning  to  Philadelphia.  He  sud 
denly  left  Rome  for  America.  At  Paris,  on  re 
ceiving  the  same  advice  from  the  Papal  Nuncio, 
he  hastened  home,  arriving  early  in  1829.  The 
United  States  consul  at  Rome  wrote  to  the  Secre 
tary  of  State  at  Washington  that  the  Bishop's 
fears  were  groundless.  That  so  far  from  any 
opposition  having  been  made  to  his  returning 
home,  the  Papal  government  had  his  passport 
prepared  and  ready  for  him.  Bishop  Conwell 
never  recovered  his  Episcopal  jurisdiction ;  he 
lived  in  retirement  the  rest  of  his  life  at  Phila 
delphia,  became  blind  and  overwhelmed  with  in 


firmities.  He  died  on  April  21,  1842,  at  the  age 
of  ninety-four.  In  1829  Messrs.  Harold  and  Ryan 
returned  separately  to  Ireland :  the  former  became 
Provincial  of  his  Order  in  Ireland,  and,  after  spend 
ing  the  remainder  of  his  life  with  edification  and 
enjoying  the  respect  of  all  for  his  zeal  and  piety, 
died  about  the  year  1856 ;  the  latter  lived  to 
repair  his  bad  example  and  spend  his  remaining 
years  in  piety  and  devotion.  Rev.  William  Mat 
thews  continued  to  administer  the  Diocese  of 
Philadelphia  until  1830,  when  he  made  known 
his  unwillingness  to  bear  the  burden  longer, 
and  was  relieved.  Returning  to  Washington, 
he  continued  to  be  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's,  for 
fifty  years  in  all,  having  been  a  priest  fifty-four 
years,  and  died  most  highly  esteemed  by  all 
denominations  at  the  age  of  eighty-four,  on  April 

3°-  l854- 

In  1829  the  Council  of  Baltimore  took  into 

consideration  the  distracted  state  of  the  Diocese 
of  Philadelphia ;  Bishop  Conwell,  though  he  did 
not  sit  in  the  Council,  was  in  frequent  consulta 
tion  with  the  assembled  Bishops ;  the  Diocese 
was  represented  in  the  Council  by  the  Very  Rev. 
William  Matthews.  With  the  consent  of  Bishop 
Conwell,  the  Council  recommended  the  appoint 
ment  of  a  co-adjutor,  with  powers  of  adminis 
trator,  and  nominated  Very  Rev.  Francis  Patrick 
Keurick,  of  Bardstown,  Kentucky,  for  co-adjutor. 
Papal  Bulls  were  issued  appointing  Dr.  Kenrick 
accordingly,  and  he  was  consecrated  as  Bishop 
of  Arathe  at  Bardstown  by  Bishop  Flaget  on 
June  6,  1830.  His  arrival  in  Philadelphia  was 
regarded  at  first  by  the  enemies  of  Bishop  Con- 
well  as  their  triumph,  and  his  situation  was 
most  embarrassing.  St.  Joseph's  Church  and 
the  Episcopal  residence  were  occupied  by  Bishop 
Conwell,  Trinity  Church  was  in  the  use  of  the 
Germans,  St.  Augustine's  belonged  to  a  religious 
community ;  he  was,  in  fact,  without  a  church, 
without  a  residence,  and  without  supporters. 
There  was  but  one  other  church  in  the  city,  and 
that  was  St.  Mary's,  which  was  in  the  possession 
of  the  rebellious  trustees.  Dr.  Kenrick  rented 
a  respectable  house  on  Fifth  street,  trusting  to 
Providence  to  show  him  how  he  was  to  pay  the 
rent.  He  then  declared  himself  the  pastor  of 
St.  Mary's,  and  interdicted  the  church  until  the 
trustees  should  acknowledge  him  as  pastor  and 
recognize  his  authority.  In  the  midst  of  such  a 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  PHILADELPHIA. 


conflict,  Dr.  Kenrick  had  the  courage  to  com 
mence  an  Ecclesiastical  Seminary  in  the  upper 
room  of  his  residence.  The  trustees  of  St. 
Mary's  continued  their  rebellion  against  his 
authority,  and  claimed  the  right  to  select  their 
own  pastors;  but  Bishop  Kenrick,  declaring  him 
self  chief  pastor  of  St.  Mary's,  went  and  occupied 
its  pulpit  the  following  Sunday,  and  announced 
therefrom  his  intention  of  taking  possession  of 
the  church ;  the  trustees  resisted,  and  called  a 
general  meeting  of  the  pew-holders  for  the  next 
evening.  To  their  amazement  Bishop  Kenrick 
attended  the  meeting,  dressed  in  his  cassock  and 
wearing  his  Episcopal  cross  displayed  on  his 
breast ;  he  addressed  the  meeting  and  carried 
conviction  with  him;  proving  to  the  pew-holders 
the  unlawfulness  of  the  position  assumed  by  the 
trustees.  He  convicted  them  of  misrepresentation, 
defied  them  to  interfere  with  his  Episcopal  au 
thority,  declared  himself  their  pastor  and  Bishop, 
and  announced  that  St.  Mary's  should  be  his 
Cathedral.  His  triumph  was  complete.  The 
pew-holders  sided  with  the  Bishop ;  the  trustees 
surrendered  their  unjust  pretensions,  and  there 
was  a  general  shaking  of  hands.  When  the 
former  friends  of  the  trustees  threatened  them 
with  expulsion  for  yielding  thus,  the  Bishop  de 
cided  that  no  change  should  be  made  in  the 
Board  of  Trustees  as  long  as  they  confined  them 
selves  within  their  proper  bounds.  Dr.  Kenrick 
thenceforth  assumed  the  chief  pastorship  of  the 
church  and  the  administration  of  the  Diocese. 
Even  after  this,  in  the  spring  of  1831,  the  trus 
tees  again  rebelled  against  the  Bishop,  who 
thereupon  ordered  the  cessation  of  all  sacred 
functions  in  the  church  and  cemeteries  of  St. 
Mary's.  On  May  21,  1831,  Dr.  Kenrick  received 
a  communication,  dated  the  i8th,  signed  by  five 
of  the  trustees,  again  surrendering  all  their  claims 
except  the  right  of  regulating  the  salaries  of  the 
pastors,  and  even  of  withholding  them  at  their 
discretion.  The  interdict  against  the  church 
was  removed,  though  the  Bishop  informed  the 
trustees  that  the  last  part  of  their  letter  con 
tained  pretensions  he  could  not  sanction.  No 
other  church  property  was  thereafter  permitted 
by  Bishop  Kenrick  to  be  held  in  the  Diocese  by 
lay  trustees.  Soon  afterwards  he  discovered  that 
St.  Paul's  Church  at  Pittsburgh,  just  built,  was 
about  to  be  incorporated  with  lay  trustees ;  he 


went  to  Pittsburgh  and  annulled  the  proceeding. 
Thenceforth  trusteeism  was  excluded  from  the 
Diocese  of  Philadelphia. 

Visiting  the  extensive  Diocese,  covering  the 
entire  present  Province  with  its  suffragan  Sees, 
he  labored  with  such  fatigue  and  privation  that 
he  became  prostrated  at  Chambersburg,  where 
he  was  joined  and  assisted  by  Rev.  John 
Hughes  from  Philadelphia,  afterwards  Arch 
bishop  of  New  York.  They  made  a  thorough 
visitation  and  the  Bishop  made  note  of  the  situ 
ation  and  needs  of  the  Diocese.  Pittsburgh, 
Conewago,  Loretto,  Manayunk  and  Wilmington 
were  the  only  places  with  pastors ;  Haycock, 
Pottsville,  Lancaster,  Bedford  and  Chambers- 
burg  had  Mass  three  times  a  month,  others 
once  a  fortnight,  others  once  a  month,  and 
Brownsville,  Carbondale,  Silver  Lake,  New  Castle 
and  Butler  received  only  an  occasional  visit. 
The  Bishop  and  Father  Hughes  also  visited  at 
Loretto  the  venerable  missionary,  Prince  Gal- 
litzin.  On  returning  to  Philadelphia,  the  clergy 
were  summoned  to  meet  the  Bishop  and  concert 
measures  for  increasing  their  numbers,  and  for 
the  maintaining  of  a  seminary.  They  recom 
mended  uniting  an  academic  and  collegiate 
branch  for  lay  students  in  the  seminary ;  but  the 
Bishop  rejected  this  as  contrary  to  the  directions 
of  the  Council  of  Trent.  The  seminary  became 
a  success,  and  soon  began  to  supply  the  Diocese 
with  a  number  of  priests ;  it  was  incorporated 
by  the  Legislature  in  1838,  was  confided  to  the 
care  of  the  Lazarists  until  1853,  when,  after 
Bishop  Kenrick's  translation  to  Baltimore,  it  was 
given  to  the  secular  clergy.  Such  was  the  origin 
of  the  Grand  Theological  Seminary  of  St.  Charles 
Borromeo,  at  Philadelphia,  which  now  has  also 
its  Preparatory  Seminary  in  Delaware  county. 

When  Philadelphia  was  visited  by  the  cholera 
in  1832,  Bishop  Kenrick  and  his  clergy  gave 
examples  of  heroic  charity.  It  was  Bishop  Ken 
rick  who  first  invited  the  illustrious  apostle 
of  temperance,  Father  Matthew,  to  visit  the 
United  States.  In  1842  the  Order  of  St.  Augus 
tine  commenced  their  College  of  St.  Thomas 
at  Villanova,  and  though  the  destruction 
of  their  church  and  library  in  1844  by  the 
Know  Nothing  riots  was  a  blow  to  their  plans, 
the  college  resumed  its  classes  in  1846,  and  in 
that  year  it  was  incorporated.  The  Jesuits  es- 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  PHILADELPHIA. 


tablished  St.  Joseph's  College,  in  Philadelphia, 
in  1851,  and  obtained  a  charter  in  1852.  In 
1852  another  college,  under  the  patronage  of 
St.  Joseph,  was  commenced  by  Rev.  J.  Vincent 


Interior  of  St.  Mary's  Church,  Philadelphia. 

O'Reilly,  in  Snsquehanna  county.  In  1830  the 
Sisters  of  Charity  had  but  one  institution,  the 
Orphan  Asylum.  Under  this  administration  they 
expanded  into  six  religious  communities.  The 
Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart  came  in  1842  and 
opened  a  boarding-school  for  girls  at  McSherrys- 
town,  near  the  Jesuit  Station  of  Conewago ; 
they  next  opened  a  school  in  Philadelphia,  in 
1847,  and,  in  1849,  tne  nne  establishment  of 
Eden  Hall  became  a  favorite  school  of  the  Sister 
hood.  The  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  came  from  St. 
Louis  in  1848,  and  the  old  school  of  the  Sacred 
Heart  at  McSherrystown  became  their  Mother 
House,  and  the  source  from  which  proceeded  col 
onies  to  establish  asylums  and  academies.  The 
Sisters  of  the  Visitation,  the  Sisters  of  Notre 
Dame  and  Sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd  also 
came  and  have  since  expanded  into  many  noble 
institutions. 

On  the  death  of  Bishop  Conwell  on  April  22, 
1842,  Dr.  Kenrick  became  Bishop  of  Philadel 
phia.  In  1844  the  city  of  Philadelphia  became 
the  scene  of  the  anti-Catholic  or  "  Native  Ameri 


can  "  agitation,  in  which  the  Catholic  clergy  and 
people  behaved  with  a  Christian  patience  which 
overcame  much  prejudice,  but  great  damage  was 
done  to  property.  On  May  8,  at  two  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  St.  Michael's  Church  was  destroyed  by 
the  incendiaries.  As  the  cross  fell  from  its  spire 
the  crowd  yelled  with  joy  amid  sounds  of  drum 
and  fife.  At  four  o'clock  the  torch  was  applied  to 
the  home  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin ;  from  this  temple  of  Christian  charity, 
when  the  cholera  devastated  Philadelphia,  those 
good  Sisters  were  engaged  every  hour  of  the  day 
and  night  to  nurse  the  sick  and  dying.  At  six 
o'clock  St.  Augustine's  Church  was  in  flames, 
and  with  it  the  rectory,  which,  during  the  epi 
demic,  had  been  given  by  the  Augustinian 
Fathers  for  a  hospital,  for  those  same  people 
who  now  destroyed  it.  During  the  raging  of  the 
conflagration  the  rioters  pillaged  the  library  and 
piled  up  its  valuable  contents  in  heaps  to  make 
bonfires.  The  militia  stood  and  witnessed  these 
outrages,  refusing  to  fire  when  so  ordered.  On 
May  9  martial  law  was  proclaimed ;  the  rioters 
were  ordered  to  disperse  in  five  minutes,  when, 
true  to  their  cowardly  instincts,  they  obeyed 
through  fear  an  authority  which,  if  exerted  in 
time,  could  have  saved  the  temples  and  altars  of 
religion,  the  house  of  charity  and  the  homes  of 
good  citizens.  But  the  excitement  did  not  cease. 
As  late  as  July  5,  1844,  St.  Philip's  Church,  at 
Southwark,  after  warning  given  to  the  pastor, 
was  attacked  by  an  infuriated  crowd.  The  Gov 
ernor  authorized  the  formation  of  extra  militia 
companies.  The  congregation  of  St.  Philip's 
formed  one  of  these  under  the  name  of  the  Mont 
gomery  Hibernian  Guards,  and  armed  Catholics 
garrisoned  their  own  church  to  defend  it  as 
authorized  by  law  ;  the  sheriff,  at  the  demand 
of  the  rabble,  entered  the  church  and  seized  the 
arms ;  the  crowd  insisted  on  sending  a  com 
mittee  of  their  own  number  to  examine  the 
church  and  see  if  there  were  arms  within,  a 
point  which  was  timidly  granted  by  the  author 
ities.  This  did  not  satisfy  them ;  they  were 
about  to  renew  the  incendiarism  of  May,  when 
General  Cadwallader,  in  command  of  the  militia, 
dispersed  the  rioters. 

In  1836  an  effort  was  made  by  Bishop  Ken- 
rick  to  have  the  Diocese  divided  by  the  erection 
of  the  See  of  Pittsburgh,  and  the  documents  were 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  PHILADELPHIA.  7 

actually  made  out  at  Rome,  and  Dr.  Kenrick  vigor ;  these  mass-meetings  became  annual  and 
was  to  be  appointed  Bishop  of  Pittsburgh.  But  were  presided  over  by  the  Bishop;  and  in  1857 
at  this  time  Bishop  Conwell  manifested  a  dispo-  the  fine  chapel  of  the  Cathedral  was  erected, 
sition  to  assert  his  jurisdiction,  and  Bishop  Ken-  with  the  view  of  turning  it  over  to  school  pur- 
rick,  fearing  that  his  appointment  to  Pittsburgh  poses  on  the  completion  of  the  Cathedral ;  in 
might  be  construed  as  an  abandonment  of  his  1859  the  first  cross  was  placed  on  the  summit  of 
post,  requested  the  Roman  authorities  not  to  the  Cathedral,  an  event  which  was  celebrated 
make  any  change.  The  matter  rested  until  with  great  ceremony  and  enthusiasm;  several 
1843,  when  Pittsburgh  was  erected  into  an  Epis-  prelates,  many  clergymen  and  an  immense  con- 
copal  See,  with  Right  Rev.  Michael  O'Connor  as  course  of  people  attended  ;  Bishop  Spalding,  of 
its  Bishop.  Louisville,  preached  the  sermon  and  Bishop 

When     Dr.    Hughes,    pastor    of    St.    John's     Wood  performed  the  blessing  of  the  cross  and 
Church,  was  appointed  co-adjutor  of  New  York,     building. 

in  1837,  Bishop  Kenrick  made  St.  John's  his  So  great  was  the  progress  of  the  Church  in 
Cathedral.  Soon  afterwards  he  undertook  the  this  Diocese  during  Bishop  Neumann's  Episco- 
great  and  herculean  work  of  giving  to  the  Dio-  pate  that  fifty  churches  were  erected  in  eight 
cese  of  Philadelphia  a  Cathedral  worthy  of  it;  he  years,  and  he  stated  himself  that  twenty  were 

erected  in  one  summer  and  paid  for  with  collec 
tions  made  in  the  congregations ;  six  of  these 
churches  were  for  the  Germans.  A  German 
of  considerable  progress.  On  August  3,  1851,  church  was,  under  interdict  when  Bishop  Neu- 
Archbishop  Kenrick  was  made  Archbishop  of  niann  arrived  in  Philadelphia;  vigorous  measures 
Baltimore.  In  1830  the  Diocese  had  only  thirty  were  adopted,  the  most  unruly  members  were 

justly  dealt  with  in  the  courts  and  the  better 
disposed  united  with  the  Bishop  in  restoring 
peace.  When  St.  Augustine's  Church  was  in 
financial  trouble  he  went  promptly  to  its  relief; 
he  could  not  avail  himself  of  the  opportunity  of 
purchasing  it  at  the  lowest  price  at  auction,  as 
the  creditors  might  thus  be  losers,  but  he  re 
lieved  the  entire  church  debt,  as  more  consistent 
with  justice.  On  July  17,  1850,  the  school-chil 
dren  of  St.  Michael's  Church,  while  on  a  pic-nic 
excursion  by  .rail,  met  with  a  terrific  accident  by 
collision;  sixty-four  excursionists  of  the  party, 
including  Rev.  Daniel  Sheridan,  were  killed,  and 


commenced  the  grand  Cathedral  of  Sts.  Peter 
and  Paul,  and  through  countless  and  almost  in 
surmountable  difficulties  he  brought  it  to  a  state 


priests;  in  1851  it  possessed  one  hundred  and 
one  priests  and  forty-six  seminarians,  ninety-four 
churches  and  eight  chapels. 

The  Diocese  of  Philadelphia  next  passed  un 
der  the  administration  of  Very  Rev.  John  Ne- 
pomucene  Neumann,  a  Redemptorist,  who  had 
been  Provincial  of  his  congregation  and  first 
pastor  of  St.  Alphonsus'  Church,  Baltimore,  a 
man  noted  for  his  learning,  sanctity  and  hu 
mility,  for  whose  canonization  as  a  saint  a  move 
ment  is  now  being  made.  Bishop  Neumann  was 
consecrated  by  Archbishop  Kenrick  at  St.  Al 
phonsus'  Church,  Baltimore,  on  Passion  Sunday, 
1852,  and  he  took  possession  of  his  See  on 
March  2  8th.  One  of  his  first  acts  was  to  visit 
two  youths  in  the  Philadelphia  prison  awaiting 
their  execution  for  murder,  and  he  succeeded  in 
inducing  them  to  make  a  thorough,  preparation 
for  death.  He  visited  all  the  Catholic  institu 
tions  of  Philadelphia ;  at  once  began  administer 
ing  confirmation,  preaching  and  hearing  confes- 


seventy-nine  wounded  were  taken  from  the  ruins 
of  the  train.  Bishop  Neumann  hastened  from  a 
distant  part  of  his  Diocese,  where  he  was  giving 
confirmation,  and  devoted  himself  day  and  night 
to  the  relief  of  the  suffering  and  afflicted.  In 
1852  a  school  committee  was  appointed,  and  un 
der  the  exertions  of  the  Bishop,  the  pastors  and 


the    committee,   Catholic    parochial   schools   in- 

sion.     In  1854  the  Diocese  of  Philadelphia  cele-  creased  from  year  to  year,  and  by  1859  nearly 

brated  and  observed  the  Jubilee  proclaimed  by  every  church  in    the    Diocese    had   its   school. 

Pius  IX.     He  resumed  the  work  of  building  the  The  boys'  schools  were  confided  to  the  Christian 

grand  Cathedral ;  in  1854  he  called  and  presided  Brothers,  the  girls'  schools  to  the  Sisters  of  St. 

over  a  mass-meeting  of  the  Catholics  of  Phila-  Joseph,    Sisters   of    Charity,    Sisters   of   Notre 

delphia,  at  which  it  was  resolved  to  go  on  with  Dame  and  other  female  religious  communities. 


*  * 


8 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  PHILADELPHIA. 


In  1852  there  were  two  parochial  schools  in 
Philadelphia;  in  1860  there  were  nearly  one 
hundred.  In  1850  there  were  three  Catholic 
colleges  in  the  Diocese — the  Augustinian  Col 
lege  at  Villanova,  St.  Joseph's  College  in  Phila 
delphia,  and  St.  Mary's  College  at  Wilmington ; 
and  three  young  ladies'  academies — the  Visitation 
Academy  at  Philadelphia,  and  the  two  schools  of 
the  Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart  at  Holmesburg 
and  McSherrystown.  During  Bishop  Neumann's 
eight  years'  administration  were  established  St. 
Joseph's  College,  in  Susquehanna  county ;  three 
female  academies,  one  in  Susquehanna  and  two 
in  Philadelphia,  in  charge  of  the  Sisters  of  the 
Holy  Cross ;  St.  Vincent's  Home  for  Orphans 
under  four  years  of  age,  in  the  Cathedral  parish ; 


Bishop  John  N.  Neumann. 

St.  Vincent's  Asylum  for  the  Germans,  in  care 
of  the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  and  a  German  Hos 
pital  under  the  Franciscan  Sisters.  St.  Charles 
Borromeo's  Seminary,  which  had  grown  strong 
and  useful,  received  from  the  Holy  See  the  right 
to  confer  the  Doctorate. 


The  religious  communities  introduced  during 
this  administration  were  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy 
Cross  from  Mans,  France,  the  Sisters  of  Notre 
Dame  from  Namur,  Belgium,  Sisters  of  the 
Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary  from  Detroit,  and 
the  Sisters  of  the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis,  a 
religious  community  which  owes  its  existence  to 
the  suggestions  of  Bishop  Neumann,  made  in 
1855,  to  Pope  Pius  IX.,  and  to  his  wise  and 
zealous  training  and  organization.  In  four  years 
after  he  organized  them  the  Sisters  had  four 
houses  ;  now  they  have  numerous  convents  and 
schools  in  various  Dioceses.  The  Diocese  of 
Philadelphia  was  the  first  to  introduce  the 
Forty  Hours  Devotion  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament, 
in  1853.  In  1855  the  Pope  granted  to  the  faithful 
of  the  Diocese  the  same  indulgences  as  were 
granted  at  Rome,  and  the  Church  of  St.  Philip 
Neri  was  the  first  to  hold  the  Devotion,  Bishop 
Neumann  in  person  inaugurating  and  directing 
the  exercises.  So  also  the  Archconfraternity  of 
the  Blessed  Sacrament  was  introduced  in  1855, 
commencing  with  St.  Alphonsus'  Church ;  the 
Confraternities  of  the  Scapular,  Rosary  and 
Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary  were  introduced. 
The  Cathedral  of  Philadelphia  became  possessed 
of  the  famous  ivory  crucifix  of  Carlo  Antonio 
Pesenti,  of  Genoa,  through  Bishop  Neumann. 
In  1857  a  co-adjutor  was  appointed  for  Phila 
delphia,  in  the  person  of  Right  Rev.  James 
Frederick  Wood,  of  Cincinnati,  who  had  just 
before  been  appointed  President  of  the  American 
College  at  Rome.  Bishop  Neumann  died  at 
Philadelphia,  January  5,  1860,  in  the  odor  of 
sanctity.  Many  pious  people  and  religious 
communities  attributed  great  favors,  and  even 
miracles  received,  to  his  intercession. 

The  Diocese  of  Philadelphia,  on  the  death  of 
Bishop  Neumann  on  January  5,  1860,  received 
as  its  Bishop  by  succession  Right  Rev.  James 
Frederick  Wood,  who  had  already  conducted  its 
episcopal  labors  as  co-adjutor.  The  Cathedral 
parish  was  organized  and  a  commodious  chapel 
provided  for  them,  a  measure  which  immediately 
brought  income  and  financial  relief.  The 
Diocese  of  Philadelphia  possessed  one  hundred 
and  thirty-one  churches,  seventeen  chapels  and 
stations,  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  priests, 
twenty-seven  ecclesiastical  students,  four  colleges 
and  four  academies.  The  Cathedral  was  now 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  PHILADELPHIA. 


built,  and,  though  it  owes  much  to  Bishops 
Kenrick  and  Neumann,  it  was  Bishop  Wood's 
energy,  business  knowledge  and  good  taste  that 
added  much  to  its  ornamentation  and  fine  details, 


Most  Rev.  James  F.  Wood,  D.  D. 

and  finally  brought  it  to  a  stage  ready  for  dedi 
cation  and  divine  service,  an  event  which  took 
place  with  great  ceremony  and  splendor  on 
November  20,  1864.  The  first  medal  struck  to 
commemorate  an  event  in  the  history  of  the 
Church  in  America  was  issued  on  this  occa 
sion. 

Scarcely  had  this  important  work  been  accom 
plished,  when  another,  not  less  important,  was 
entered  upon :  the  new  and  splendid  Theolog 
ical  Seminary  of  St.  Charles  Borromeo  was 
undertaken,  and  its  corner-stone  was  laid  by 
Bishop  Wood  on  April  4,  1866.  The  increase 
of  churches  and  religious  works  of  every  kind 
in  the  Diocese  of  Philadelphia,  and  in  the  Suf 
fragan  Diocese  constituting  the  Province  of 
Philadelphia,  not  only  justified  but  necessitated 
this  great  undertaking,  which  has  successfully 
supplied  good  priests  to  meet  the  increasing  de 
mand.  The  structure  cost  $500,000.  Its  good 
management  and  thorough  instruction  in  eccle 
siastical  learning,  discipline  and  virtue,  under 
Archbishops  Wood  and  Ryan,  give  assurance 
that  it  will  supply  members  for  the  ecclesiastical 


body  for  generations  to  come.  The  Diocese  of 
Philadelphia  was  distinguished  in  1867  f°r  the 
liberal  amount  of  Peter-pence  it  sent  to  the 
Holy  Father,  which  amounted  to  the  handsome 
sum  of  $60,000,  which  formed  a  part  of  the  sum 
of  $200,000,  contributed  by  a  number  of  Dio 
ceses,  and  presented  to  Pope  Pius  IX.  by  Bishop 
Wood,  tastefully  stored  away  in  a  silver  model 
of  the  yacht  "Henrietta,"  which  deeply  interested 
His  Holiness,  and  called  forth  from  him  the 
humorous  remark,  "  It  is  not  a  steam  yacht.'1 
The  Diocese  of  Philadelphia  on  another  occasion 
presented  to  Pius  IX.  the  sum  of  $20,000  to  aid 
the  Holy  Father  in  defraying  the  general  ex 
penses  of  the  Church. 

In  1868  Philadelphia  became  a  Metropolitan 
See,  with   the   Dioceses  of  Pittsburgh,  Harris- 
burg,  Scranton  and  Erie  as    Suffragans.     The 
pallium  was  brought  to  Archbishop  Wood  by 
Monsignor  Roncetti,  the  Papal  Ablegate,  and  he 
was  invested  with  the  insignia  of  Archiepiscopal 
honor  and  authority  by  Archbishop  Bayley,  of 
Baltimore.      The  Diocese  of   Philadelphia  was 
represented   in    the    Council   of   Baltimore   by 
Archbishop  Wood,  and  in  May,  1860,  was  held 
at  Philadelphia  the  First  Provincial  Council  of 
that  See,  at  which  the  Statutes  of  the  Province 
were  adopted  and  have  proved  most  beneficial  to 
the  religious  interests  of  the  Archdiocese  and 
Suffragan  Dioceses.     The    Diocese  of  Philadel 
phia  was  represented  with  dignity  and  ability  by 
Archbishop   Wood    at  Rome,  in   1862,  on  the 
occasion    of  the   canonization  of   the  Japanese 
martyrs ;    in    1867,    at    the   celebration   of  the 
eighteenth    anniversary    of    Saints    Peter    and 
Paul ;  and  again,  in  1869,  at  tne  Vatican  Coun 
cil,  and  at  the  Jubilee  of  Pope  Pius  IX.,  when, 
in    behalf    of   the    American    Hierarchy    and 
Church,  he  read  an  eloquent  address  to  the  Holy 
Father.     The  Catholic  clergy  and  laity  of  Phil 
adelphia  gave  Archbishop  Wood  a  grand  ovation 
on  his   last  return   from    Rome.     In   1873   the 
Diocese  was  solemnly  dedicated   to  the   Sacred 
Heart  of  Jesus,  and  on  April  26,  1882,  was  cele 
brated    at    the    Cathedral  of   Philadelphia  the 
Silver  Jubilee  of  the  Archbishop's  consecration 
in    the    episcopal    office,  in    the    presence    of 
bishops,  priests    and    Catholic    laity  in    great 
numbers,  and  with   great  splendor  and  enthu 
siasm.     Archbishop  Wood  died,  June  20,  1883, 


10 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  PHILADELPHIA. 


and  was  buried  under  the  altar  of  the  Cathedral 
of  Saints  Peter  and  Paul. 

On  June  8,  1884,  the  Diocese  of  Philadelphia 
passed  under  the  administration  of  Most  Rev. 
Patrick  John  Ryan,  who  had  for  twelve  years 
been  co-adjutor  Bishop  of  St.  Louis,  a  prelate  of 
great  zeal,  prudence  and  learning,  who  stood 
first  among  the  pulpit  orators  of  the  United 
States. 

The  reception  which  Philadelphia,  its  clergy 
and  laity  gave  to  Archbishop  Ryan,  which  is 
said  to  be  unequalled  by  any  similar  demonstra 
tion  that  had  taken  place  in  America,  gave  pre 
sage  of  an  administration  at  once  active,  zealous, 
prudent  and  successful.  Mr.  Drexel,  a  wealthy 
Catholic  of  Philadelphia,  by  his  will  gave  a  mu 
nificent  endowment  of  the  charitable  institutions 
of  the  Archdiocese,  Archbishop  Ryan  being  one 
of  the  trustees  of  the  fund ;  and  his  daughter,  in 
1888,  erected  the  fine  industrial  school  for  boys 
at  Eddington,  Bucks  county,  Pa.,  which  will  be 


opened  for  applicants  in  1889,  and  is  in  charge 
of  the  Brothers  of  the  Christian  schools.  During 
1888  two  new  houses  of  the  Sisters  of  the  Good 
Shepherd  have  been  opened,  one  at  Norristown 
and  the  other  at  Reading.  During  the  last  four 
years  eleven  priests  have  been  added,  twelve 
churches,  and  there  are  ten  in  course  of  erection ; 
the  chapels  have  been  increased  eight,  and  at 
several  stations  churches  have  been  erected.  In 
1884  there  were  ninety-five  ecclesiastical  stu 
dents  ;  in  1888  there  were  one  hundred  and  forty- 
six  ;  the  parochial  schools  have  increased  from 
fifty-nine  to  sixty-eight;  the  children  in  attend 
ance  at  the  schools  have  grown  from  twenty-two 
thousand  to  twenty -five  thousand;  one  orphan 
asylum  has  been  added  ;  conferences  of  St.  Vin 
cent  de  Paul  have  increased,  and  the  Catholic 
population  of  the  Diocese  has  increased  from 
three  hundred  thousand  to  four  hundred  thou 
sand.  The  Diocese  is  in  a  most  flourishing  con 
dition. 


Theological  Semiuary  of  St.  Charles  Borromeo,  Overbrook,  Pennsylvania. 


DIOCESES  OF  PITTSBURGH  AND  ALLEGHENY. 


ii 


DIOCESES  OF  PITTSBURGH  AND  ALLEGHENY. 

As  early  as  1836  Pittsburgh  had  been,  by  St.  Paul's  Church  and  Vicar-General  until  1853. 
documents  made  out  at  Rome,  erected  into  an  Epis-  On  hearing  that  his  name  was  mentioned  for 
copal  See,  and  Rev.  Francis  Patrick  Kenrick,  Bishop  of  Pittsburgh,  he  immediately  hurried 
then  co-adjutor  of  Bishop  Conwell  and  adminis-  to  Europe,  with  the  view  of  escaping  the  ap- 
trator  of  the  See  of  Philadelphia,  had  been  pointment  by  entering  the  novitiate  of  the  Jesuits, 
named  as  Bishop  of  Pittsburgh.  But  as  Bishop  When  on  his  knees  at  the  Vatican  he  asked  Pope 
.enrick  had  mainly  succeeded  in  restoring  peace  Gregory  XVI.  for  permission  to  join  the  Society 

•j  of  Jesus,  the  Holy  Father  answered,  prophet 
ically  as  it  resulted,  "You  will  be  Bishop  first 
I  and  Jesuit  afterwards.'     I  will  not  let  you  rise 
from  your  knees  until  you  promise  to  accept  the 
Diocese  of   Pittsburgh."     The  first   Bishop  of 
Pittsburgh  was  accordingly  consecrated  by  Car 
dinal  Franzoni   at   St.   Agatha's,  at  Rome,  on 
August  15, 1853.    Returning  to  America  through 
Ireland,  Bishop  O'Connor,  at  Maynooth  College, 
addressed  the  students  so  forcibly  in  behalf  of 
the  missions  of  his  Diocese,  that  five  students, 
whose  course  was  nearly  completed,  and  three 
far   advanced,  volunteered   to   go  with   him    to 
America.      So,   too,   at   Dublin   he    procured   a 
colony  of  seven  Sisters  of  Our  Lady  of  Mercy, 
and  with  all  these  recruits  he  arrived  at  Pitts 
burgh  about  September  16.    The  Diocese  already 
possessed  fourteen  priests,  thirty-three  churches, 
some  of  which  were  unfinished ;  and  the  Redemp- 
torists  and  Sisters  of  Charity  were  there.     On 
February  4,    1844,   Rev.  Thomas   McCullough, 
one  of  the  students  from  Maynooth,  was  the  first 
priest    ordained    in    the    Diocese.      St.    Paul's 
Church  became  the  Cathedral,  at  which  parish 
schools  were  opened  on  the  4th  of  April.     On 
to  the  Diocese  of  Philadelphia,  and  Bishop  Con-     June  14  the  congregation  assembled  at  the  call 


3M 


St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 


well  showed  some  disposition  to  intervene  in  the 
government  of  the  Diocese,  Dr.  Kenrick,  fearing 
that  his  acceptance  of  the  See  of  Pittsburgh 
might  be  regarded  as  an  abandonment  of  his 
post,  wrote  to  Rome  and  secured  a  revocation 
of  the  documents,  which  had  not  been  trans 
mitted  to  America.  In  May,  1843,  tne  Council 
of  Baltimore  recommended  the  erection  of  the 
See,  and  Rome  accordingly  created  the  See  of 
Pittsburgh,  and  appointed  Very  Rev.  Michael 
O'Connor,  then  acting  as  Vicar-General  at  Pitts 
burgh,  where  he  was  sent  to  arrange  some  church 


of  the  Bishop,  and  commenced  to  make  provision 
for  a  residence  for  the  Bishop  and  his  priests. 
On  June  16  the  Diocesan  Synod  assembled  and 
enacted  the  first  legislation  for  the  Diocese  of 
Pittsburgh.  On  June  30  the  Chapel  of  the 
Nativity  for  colored  Catholics  was  opened.  The 
Diocese  of  Pittsburgh  was  thus  the  first  to  start 
the  movement  for  providing  churches  for  the 
colored  people,  and  the  first  to  introduce  the 
Sisters  of  Mercy  in  this  country.  Sunday-schools 
and  total  abstinence  societies  were  established 
in  almost  every  church  of  the  Diocese ;  a  cir- 


troubles,  and  where  he  remained  as  pastor  of     culating  library  was  founded.    In  September  the 


*  * 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  PHILADELPHIA. 


Sisters  of  Mercy  opened  their  academy  for  young 
ladies,  and  a  school  was  started  for  boys  by  Rev. 
J.  Mullen,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Erie.  It  must 
be  borne  in  mind  that  Pittsburgh  was  the  site  of 
an  ancient  mission,  for  the  French  had  had  a 
chapel  at  Fort  Duquesne  a  century  before.  The 
publication  of  a  Catholic  paper,  The  Catholic, 
was  commenced,  and  St.  Michael's  Ecclesiastical 
Seminary  was  started,  for  which  a  small  house 
was  leased  at  the  corner  of  Smithfield  street  and 
Virgin  alley,  and  Rev.  Richard  H.  Wilson,  D.  D., 
was  principal  and  professor;  the  seminary,  in 
1847,  was  transferred  to  Birmingham. 

In  1845  Bishop  O'Connor  returned  from  Eu 
rope  with  four  Presentation  Brothers  from  Cork, 
and  in  1845  tne  Order  of  St.  Benedict  from  Ba 
varia  was  introduced  for  the  first  time  in  Amer 
ica,  and  settled  at  St.  Vincent's,  Westmoreland 
county,  on  October  24.  In  January,  1847,  tne 
Mercy  Hospital  was  opened  in  a  temporary 
building,  and  in  August  Bishop  O'Connor  con 
tracted  for  the  erection  of  the  fine  building  now 
so  well  adapted  to  the  purpose.  A  large  tract 
of  land  on  the  side  and  top  of  the  hill  south  of 
Birmingham  was  purchased  for  $16,000,  and 
there  were  located  St.  Michael's  Church,  St. 
Michael's  Seminary,  the  Franciscan  Convent, 
and  the  Passionist  Monastery.  The  sale  of 
building  lots  yielded  handsome  sums  for  the 
works  of  the  Diocese.  In  1847  a  colony  of 
Brothers  of  the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis  was 
procured  from  Tuam.  The  foundations  of 
St.  Paul's  Cathedral  were  injured  by  the  reduc 
tion  of  the  grade  of  the  streets  on  Grant's  Hill 
by  the  city,  for  which  the  Bishop  recovered 
through  the  courts  damages  to  the  amount  of 
$4,000.  Four  new  churches  were  dedicated  in 
1847,  fiye  were  erected  in  1848,  one  in  1849,  ^e" 
sides  two  churches  enlarged.  At  Allegheny,  the 
future  Episcopal  See,  the  Catholic  population  had 
so  increased  that  St.  Peter's  Parish  and  Church 
were  commenced,  St.  Mary's  Cemetery  purchased 
and  consecrated^  The  Franciscan  Brothers  from 
Loretto  founded  one  of  these  houses  at  Pitts 
burgh,  and  took  charge  of  St.  Paul's  School.  In 
1850  two  new  churches  were  built,  and  in  this 
year  the  great  work  of  the  new  Cathedral  was 
undertaken,  and  the  list  of  subscriptions  was 
headed  by  the  Bishop  with  $1,000;  the  old  Ca 
thedral  was  destroyed  by  fire;  the  foundations 


of  the  new  Cathedral  were  built,  and  on  Trinity 
Sunday,  July  15,  1851,  the  corner-stone  was  laid 
with  imposing  and  solemn  ceremonies.  The 
Know-Nothing  agitation  retarded  this  great 
work  ;  the  notorious  anti-Catholic  street  speaker, 
Joe  Barker,  was  at  Pittsburgh,  and  by  his  cal 
umnies,  absurd  as  they  were,  turned  the  tide  of 
public  feeling  against  Catholics ;  the  cholera 
visited  the  city,  and  the  works  of  the  Diocese  be 
came  straitened.  Bishop  O'Connor  was  un 
daunted  and  calm  in  the  midst  of  such  misfor 
tunes.  He  prudently  suspended  work  on  the 
Cathedral ;  the  seminary  was  closed  and  its  stu 
dents  sent  to  other  institutions,  and  it  was  five 
years  before  it  was  reopened ;  all  the  resources 
of  the  Diocese  were  devoted  to  the  building  of 
churches  where  most  needed,  and  in  1851  five 
new  churches  were  dedicated.  In  September, 
1852,  the  basement  of  the  Cathedral  was  opened 
for  divine  service  for  the  congregation,  which 
had  been  worshipping  in  the  school-rooms. 

In  1852  the  First  Plenary  Council  of  Balti 
more,  at  the  suggestion  of  Bishop  O'Connor,  re 
quested  the  subdivision  of  the  Diocese  by  the 
erection  of  the  See  of  Erie,  and  this  was  accord 
ingly  done  by  Papal  Briefs  of  April  29,  1855. 
The  dividing  line  ran  east  and  west  along  the 
northern  boundaries  of  Cambria,  Armstrong,  But 
ler  and  Lawrence  counties,  by  which  the  Diocese 
of  Erie  took  the  thirteen  northern  counties,  and 
that  of  Pittsburgh  fifteen  counties.  As  Pitts 
burgh  contained  three-fourths  of  the  Catholic 
population  of  the  original  Diocese,  and  was  the 
best  provided  and  easier  Diocese  to  administer, 
Bishop  O'Connor  generously  took  the  poorer 
and,  humanly  speaking,  less  attractive  position, 
so  that  the  Holy  See,  at  his  own  request,  trans 
ferred  him  to  Erie,  and  appointed  Rev.  Josue 
M.  Young  second  Bishop  of  Pittsburgh.  At 
this  time  the  Diocese  of  Pittsburgh  contained 
seventy-eight  churches,  with  four  more  in  course 
of  erection,  sixty-four  priests,  and  a  Catholic 
population  of  fifty  thousand,  which  shows  a 
great  progress  made  in  ten  years.  Very  Rev. 
E.  McMahon  was  appointed  administrator  of 
Pittsburgh,  and  Bishop  O'Connor  went  to  Erie. 
Such,  however,  was  the  opposition  of  the  clergy 
and  laity  of  Pittsburgh  to  the  transfer  of  Bishop 
O'Connor,  that  the  Holy  See,  by  Bull  dated 
February  20,  1854,  restored  Bishop  O'Connor 


DIOCESES  OF  PITTSBURGH  AND  ALLEGHENY. 


to  Pittsburgh,  and  appointed  Bishop  Young  to 
Erie.  The  Cathedral  now  progressed  rapidly, 
and  on  June  24,  1855,  it  was  consecrated.  Arch 
bishop  Kenrick,  of  Baltimore,  was  the  consecrator, 
Bishop  Portier,  of  Mobile,  was  the  celebrator  of 
the  Mass,  and  Archbishop  Hughes  preached  one 
of  his  finest  sermons.  A  number  of  other 
Bishops,  a  large  body  of  priests  and  a  great 
gathering  of  the  laity  witnessed  the  solemn  cer 
emonies.  Its  length  is  two  hundred  and  twenty 
feet ;  extreme  width  one  hundred  and  forty  feet ; 
width  in  front  one  hundred  and  sixteen  feet ;  the 
dome  is  two  hundred  and  seventy-two  feet  high. 
The  cost  of  the  building  was  $300,000.  The 
Diocese  of  Pittsburgh  was  represented  at  Rome 
in  1854  at  the  definition  of  the  dogma  of  the 
Immaculate  Conception  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 
Mary  by  Bishop  O'Connor,  who,  on  this  occa 
sion,  procured  the  fine  painting  of  the  crucifix 
ion,  painted  by  Gagliardi,  in  the  style  of  Guido 
Reni,  for  the  Pittsburgh  Cathedral.  In  1856 
Very  Rev.  E.  McMalion  was  administrator  dur 
ing  Bishop  O'Connor's  absence  in  Europe  on  ac 
count  of  his  health.  In  1857  the  Holy  See  gave 
Pittsburgh  a  co-adjutor  in  the  person  of  Rev. 
John  B.  Byrne,  of  Washington,  who  arrived  at 
Pittsburgh,  but  before  the  day  fixed  for  his  con 
secration  arrived  the  Bulls  were  returned  to 
Rome,  and  he  retired  to  Mount  St.  Mary's  Col 
lege,  where  he  died  a  few  years  afterwards. 
Rev.  Edward  Purcell,  of  Cincinnati,  was  next 
appointed  co-adj  utor,  but  he  declined.  The  work 
of  the  Diocese  was  faithfully  performed  by 
Bishop  O'Connor,  notwithstanding  his  failing 
health.  In  1859  Rev.  James  O'Connor,  his 
brother,  now  Bishop  of  Omaha,  was  administra 
tor  during  the  Bishop's  absence  in  Europe  on 
account  of  his  health.  During  his  absence  the 
fine  episcopal  residence  was  nearly  destroyed  by 
fire.  The  people  were  ready  to  erect  another  on 
the  Bishop's  return ;  but  he  contented  himself 
in  the  old  building,  which  was  repaired  and 
faced  anew  with  brick.  Bishop  O'Connor's  res 
ignation  was  accepted  by  the  Holy  See  May  23, 
1860,  whereupon  he  entered  the  Society  of  Jesus, 
thus  fulfilling  the  prophetic  words  of  Pope  Greg 
ory  XVI.,  that  he  would  be  Bishop  first  and 
Jesuit  afterwards. 

In  Consistory  held  at  Rome,  September  28, 
1860,  Rev.  Michael  Domenec,  of  the  Lazarists, 


then  pastor  of  St.  Vincent's  Church  at  German- 
town,  was  appointed  Bishop  of  Pittsburgh.  He 
was  consecrated  at  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  Pitts 
burgh,  by  Archbishop  Kenrick,  of  Baltimore, 
on  December  9.  Bishop  Tirnon,  of  Buffalo, 
preached  the  sermon.  In  1862  the  Diocese  was 
represented  at  Rome  on  the  occasion  of  the  can 
onization  of  the  Japanese  martyrs  by  Bishop 
Domenec,  and  from  Rome  that  prelate  performed 
successfully  a  mission  for  the  American  govern 
ment  at  the  Court  of  Madrid,  by  which  the  recog 
nition  of  the  Confederate  States  by  Spain  was 
prevented.  During  his  absence  in  1868  and 
without  his  sanction  the  towers  of  the  Cathedral 
were  built,  but  the  means  of  paying  for  them 
had  not  been  provided,  and  the  debt  of  the  Cathe 
dral  was  increased.  The  administration  of 
Bishop  Domenec  was  not  successful  in  all  re 
spects,  though  he  was  zealous  and  active.  Very 
Rev.  E.  McMahon,  rector  of  the  Cathedral,  was 
removed,  and  Very  Rev.  John  Hickey  was  ap 
pointed  in  his  place.  Rev.  Father  McMahon, 
Vicar-General,  retired  to  Philadelphia,  and  Rev. 
J.  Mullen  was  appointed  in  his  place.  Rev. 
James  O'Connor  was  relieved  of  his  presidency 
of  the  seminary,  and  Rev.  Dr.  Keogh  was  ap 
pointed  in  his  place,  and  in  1865  the  latter  left 
the  Diocese  for  Philadelphia,  and  in  1866  the 
Franciscan  Brothers  retired  from  Pittsburgh. 
These  were  severe  losses  to  the  Diocese.  The 
boys'  school  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  Sisters 
of  Mercy.  The  Catholic  Reading  Room,  princi 
pally  erected  by  the  exertions  of  Father  Mullen, 
was  opened,  and  the  Sisters  of  St.  Francis  en 
tered  the  Diocese,  and  soon  afterwards  opened  a 
hospital.  The  financial  boom,  which  followed 
the  civil  war,  made  money  plentiful,  and  church 
building,  like  all  other  public  enterprises,  re 
ceived  an  immense,  but  not  a  healthy,  impetus. 
In  1867  the  Diocese  was  represented  in  Rome  by 
Bishop  Domenec,  on  the  occasion  of  the  celebra 
tion  of  the  centenary  of  the  martyrdom  of  Saints 
Peter  and  Paul.  The  new  parish  of  St.  Agnes 
was  erected  from  the  Cathedral  parish  in  1867. 
In  1868  Bishop  Mullen,  of  Erie,  was  consecrated 
at  the  Pittsburgh  Cathedral  by  Bishop  Domenec, 
and  Very  Rev.  John  Hickey  was  appointed 
Vicar-General,  and  in  this  year  the  new  parish 
of  St.  Malachy  was  taken  off  from  the  Cathedral 
parish.  Considerable  alterations  were  made 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  PHILADELPHIA. 


in    the   Cathedral    and   a   grand   organ    placed 
in  it. 

Church  building  was  prosecuted  with  great 
activity,  owing  to  the  apparent  general  prosperity, 
though  Bishop  Domenec  was  opposed  to  incur 
ring  unnecessary  or  onerous  debts.  In  1862 
three  new  churches  were  built  or  enlarged ;  in 
1863-4  ten  new  churches  were  built  or  enlarged 
in  different  parts  of  the  Diocese ;  in  1865  five, 
and  in  1866  eight  new  churches  or  enlargements 
were  undertaken ;  in  1868  the  Cathedral  towers 
were  erected ;  in  1869  five  new  churches  and 
seven  enlargements  were  erected ;  in  1870  six, 


Right  Rev.  John  Tuigg. 

and  in  1871  ten  new  churches  were  erected ;  in 
1872  the  erection  of  an  episcopal  and  parochial 
residence  was  undertaken,  and,  though  overtaken 
by  the  panic  of  1873,  was  persevered  in  and 
completed  and  occupied  in  1875,  the  cost  of  which 
was  estimated  at  the  beginning  at  $92,000,  but 
it  must  have  largely  exceeded  that  sum,  for  in 
1880  the  debt  on  this  structure  was  larger  than 
that  sum ;  in  1874-6  expensive  decorations  in 
stained  glass  were  made  on  the  Cathedral.  From 
the  outbreak  of  the  panic  of  1873  church  build 
ing  decreased  ;  in  1873  only  three  churches  were 
built  or  enlarged ;  in  1874  five,  against  eleven  in 
1872.  The  Sisters  of  Charity  opened  a  new  con 
vent  in  Altoona ;  a  colony  of  French  Ursulines 


established  themselves  at  Pittsburgh  and  opened 
a  Young  Ladies'  Academy;  in  1872  the  Little 
Sisters  of  the  Poor  arrived  at  Pittsburgh  and 
opened  a  Home  for  the  Aged,  and  the  Sisters  of 
the  Good  Shepherd  came  and  opened  a  Magda 
len  Asylum.  St.  Paul's  Orphan  Asylum  had 
cost  nearly  $200,000. 

The  growth  of  the  Diocese  of  Pittsburgh  had 
been  such  that  a  further  division  was  sometimes 
spoken  of,  and  Altoona  was  generally  regarded 
as  the  prospective  seat  of  the  new  episcopal  See. 
On  November  8,  1875,  Bishop  Domenec  went  to 
Rome  ;  in  1876  news  arrived  at  Pittsburgh  of  the 
division  of  the  Diocese  ;  the  new  See  was  erected 
at  Allegheny  and  not  at  Altoona.  By  the  same 
Bulls  Bishop  Domenec  was  transferred  to  the  new 
See  of  Allegheny,  and  Rev.  John  Tuigg,  pastor  at 
Altoona,  was  appointed  Bishop  of  Pittsburgh. 
The  boundary  line  between  the  two  Dioceses  was 
such  as  to  leave  the  churches  and  institutions 
most  heavily  in  debt  on  the  Pittsburgh  side  of 
the  line,  while  all  the  educational  institutions, 
except  the  Diocesan  Seminary  and  the  Ursuline 
Convent,  were  left  in  the  Diocese  of  Allegheny. 
On  the  return  of  Bishop  Domenec  from  Rome  he 
assisted  at  the  consecration  of  Bishop  Tuigg  as 
Bishop  of  Pittsburgh,  which  took  place  on  March 
19,  1876,  and  on  the  same  afternoon  he  was  in 
stalled  as  Bishop  of  Allegheny  at  the  Pro- 
Cathedral  of  St.  Peter,  Archbishop  Wood  presid 
ing  at  and  conducting  both  ceremonies.  Great 
dissatisfaction  prevailed  at  Pittsburgh  over  the 
division  of  the  Diocese,  and  this  feeling  was  in 
creased  by  the  manner  in  which  the  division  was 
made,  whereby  the  most  of  the  debts  of  the  pa 
rent  Diocese  were  thrown  on  the  Diocese  of  Pitts 
burgh,  while  the  Diocese  of  Allegheny  possessed 
most  of  the  institutions.  It  was  a  family  misun 
derstanding,  which  could  not  be  settled  at  home, 
and  recourse  was  had  by  both  sides  to  the  Court 
of  Rome.  The  result  was  that  Rome  decided 
that  the  Diocese  of  Allegheny  should  be  reunited 
to  the  Diocese  of  Pittsburgh  ;  that  both  Dioceses 
should  be  governed  by  the  Bishop  of  Pittsburgh. 
Bishop  Domenec  resigned  his  See,  for  he  was 
practically  a  Bishop  without  a  See.  The  official 
documents  rendering  this  decision  are  dated  Au 
gust  3,  1877.  Bishop  Tuigg  was  made  adminis 
trator  of  the  Diocese  of  Allegheny.  He  issued  a 
circular  to  the  two  Dioceses  on  September  8,  and 


DIOCESE  OF  ERIE. 


thereupon  assumed  the  administration  of  the 
united  Dioceses  of  Pittsburgh  and  Allegheny, 
and  continued  to  govern  both  till  his  death  in 
1889.  Bishop  Domenec  went  to  Spain,  his  na 
tive  country,  where  he  officiated  and  preached  on 
many  occasions  on  the  invitation  of  Spanish 
Bishops.  He  died  at  Tarragona  on  January  7, 
1878. 

The  united  Dioceses  of  Pittsburgh  and  Alle 


gheny  recovered  from  their  financial  difficulties 
under  the  administration  of  Bishop  Tuigg,  who 
ably  administered  the  Diocese  till  struck  with 
paralysis  in  1882 ;  he  was  therefore  provided  with  a 
co-adjutor — Bishop  Phelan  being  consecrated  by 
Bishop  Ryan  August  2,  1885.  Bishop  Tuigg 
died  1889,  aged  sixty-nine,  and  was  succeeded  by 
Bishop  Phelan,  whose  biography  will  be  found 
with  his  portrait. 


DIOCESE  OF  ERIE. 


THE  Holy  See  by  Papal  Bull  of  April  29, 
1855,  created  the  See  of  Erie  by  subdivision  of 
the  See  of  Pittsburgh;  it  is  situated  in  north- 


St.  Patrick's  Pro-Cathedral,  Erie,  Pa. 

western  Pennsylvania,  and  contains  the  counties 
of  Erie,  Crawford,  Mercer,  Venango,  Forest, 
Clarion,  Jefferson,  Clearfield,  Cameron,  Elk, 
McKean,  Potter  and  Warren. 

Bishop  O'Connor  having  been  transferred  to 
Erie  from  Pittsburgh,  he  labored  energetically 
in  organizing  and  starting  the  new  Diocese, 
making  St.  Patrick's  the  Pro-Cathedral,  and  for 


two  years  administered  the  Diocese,  during 
which  time  two  churches  then  building  were 
completed  and  two  additional  new  ones  erected ; 
the  churches  of  the  new  Diocese  were  increased 
from  twenty-eight  to  thirty-two,  the  priests  from 
fourteen  to  sixteen,  and  the  Catholic  population 
from  twelve  thousand  to  thirteen  thousand.  The 
Benedictine  monastery  at  Frenchville,  in  Clear- 
field  county,  was  established. 

In  1856,  by  Papal  briefs,  Bishop  O'Connor 
was  restored  to  Pittsburgh,  and  Bishop  Young 
of  Pittsburgh  was  transferred  to  Erie.  His  old 
congregation  of  Lancaster,  Ohio,  St.  Mary's, 
gave  him  a  handsome  donation  to  aid  in  the 
arduous  work  of  organizing  the  new  Diocese 
and  establishing  the  Church  there,  which  had 
already  been  founded  by  Bishop  O'Connor. 
Commencing  the  proclamation  and  observance 
of  the  Jubilee,  the  Diocese  of  Erie  received  a 
thorough  visitation  of  its  Bishop,  and  soon  Erie 
had  a  hospital  for  the  sick,  and  though  the  in 
stitution  was  subsequently  removed  to  Meadville, 
the  building  is  now  used  as  an  asylum  for  des 
titute  orphans.  A  commodious  building  was 
commenced  for  the  free  education  of  poor  Cath 
olic  children,  and  while  instruction  was  begun 
there  during  Bishop  Young's  lifetime,  the  male 
department  has  since  been  placed  in  care  of  the 
Brothers  of  St.  Francis,  and  the  female  depart 
ment  under  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph.  In  the 
first  year  of  Bishop  Young's  administration  the 
Diocese  of  Erie  possessed  twenty-eight  churches; 
he  increased  the  number  to  fifty-five,  and  fourteen 
clergymen  were  increased  to  fifty-one.  Tem 
perance  organizations  were  formed.  Many  new 
churches,  religious  houses  and  schools  were 
erected ;  also  ten  benevolent  societies,  four  acad 
emies,  thirteen  parochial  schools,  two  orphan 


*  * 


10 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF   PHILADELPHIA. 


asylums,  and  the  Catholic  population  grew  from 
twelve  to  thirty  thousand.  Bishop  Young  died 
suddenly  on  September  18,  1866. 

Occupying  the  site  of  the  ancient  French  fort 
of  Presquile,  where  a  century  ago  the  rites  of  re 
ligion  were  celebrated,  pointed  out  by  Bishop  Fla- 
get,  in  1836,  as  the  future  See  of  a  Bishop ;  the 
scene,  too,  of  the  French  missions  among  the  Erie 
Indians,  the  land  was  long  blest  with  the  occa 
sional  visits  of  priests  and  the  celebration  of  the 
Mass.  In  1755  Father  Luke  Collet,  a  Recollect, 
had  been  chaplain  at  Presquile ;  in  the  beginning 
of  the  present  century  Irish  immigrants  began  to 
settle  there,  and  the  missionary,  Father  Whe- 
lan,  visited  them  in  1807;  Rev.  Wm.  O'Brien,  a 
native  of  Maryland  and  a  pupil  of  Georgetown 
College,  repaired  thither  in  1815;  Rev.  Charles 
B.  McGuire,  of  Pittsburgh,  held  some  stations 
there  in  1816  and  1817,  and  Rev.  Terrence 
McGirr  went  to  Erie  three  times  between  1818 
and  1821,  to  administer  the  sacraments;  Rev. 
Patrick  O'Neil  was  appointed  to  serve  Erie  at 
intervals,  and  he  visited  it  the  last  time  in  1830 ; 
Rev.  Francis  Masquelet,  an  Alsatian,  went  to 
Erie  from  time  to  time  between  1834  and  1837, 
and  Rev.  Patrick  Rafferty  visited  it  in  1837 ; 
Rev.  Mr.  McCabe  was  resident  pastor  there  from 
1838  to  1840,  and  in  1841  the  Franciscan  Father 
J.  Lewis  was  appointed  to  serve  the  German 
Catholics  who  had  begun  to  settle  there,  and 
two  little  wooden  churches  were  built,  one  for 
the  English-speaking  Catholics  and  the  other 


for  the  Germans,  both  of  which  have  since  been 
rebuilt  with  brick,  one  of  which  became  after 
wards  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral. 

The  Diocese  of  Erie  now  received  for  its  Bishop 
the  present  Bishop  of  the  Diocese,  Right  Rev. 
Tobias  Mullen,  who  had  been  pastor  of  St.  Pe 
ter's  Church  at  Allegheny  and  Vicar-General 
under  Bishop  Domenec.  He  was  consecrated 
August  2,  1868.  During  his  administration  the 
Church  has  made  great  progress,  and  among  the 
services  rendered  to  religion  is  the  introduction 
of  the  Redemptorists,  who  founded  the  College 
of  St.  Mary,  "Our  Lady  of  Perpetual  Help." 
The  Diocese  of  Erie  underwent  great  vicissitudes 
during  the  activity  of  the  oil  discoveries  and 
developments ;  to  meet  the  great  influx  of  pop 
ulation  into  the  oil  regions,  at  the  height  of  the 
excitement,  churches  were  erected  for  crowded 
congregations,  which  afterward,  when  the  busi 
ness  subsided  or  diminished,  had  reduced  num 
bers,  and  so  the  tide  rose  and  fell.  Yet  during 
the  last  twenty  years  religion  has  permanently 
progressed,  and  the  Church  has  grown  rapidly. 
The  churches  of  the  Diocese  have  increased  from 
fifty-five  to  one  hundred  and  four,  with  eleven 
chapels  and  thirty-five  stations ;  there  are  two 
monasteries  and  fourteen  convents,  four  acad 
emies  for  young  ladies,  fifty  parochial  schools, 
with  nearly  six  thousand  children  attending 
them,  two  orphanages,  two  hospitals  and  a  Cath 
olic  population  increased  from  twenty  thousand 
in  1868  to  sixty  thousand  in  1888. 


DIOCESE  OF  HARRISBURG. 


POPE  Pius  IX.,  in  compliance  with  the  recom 
mendations  of  the  Second  Plenary  Council  of  Bal 
timore,  carved  out  of  the  Diocese  of  Philadelphia 
those  of  Harrisburg  and  Scranton,  in  Pennsyl 
vania,  and  erected  that  of  Wilmington,  in  Dela 
ware,  on  March  3,  1868  ;  the  Diocese  of  Harris- 
burg  comprising  the  southern  middle  section  of 
Pennsylvania,  with  eighteen  counties — Lancaster, 
Lebanon,  Northumberland,  Montour,  Columbia, 
Dauphin,  York,  Adams,  Franklin,  Union,  Cum 
berland,  Fulton,  Perry,  Snyder,  Juniata,  Mifflin 
and  Clinton.  The  Diocese  had  been  visited  by 
the  Maryland  Jesuits  before  the  Revolution,  and 


the  old  congregations  of  Conewago  and  Lan 
caster,  mentioned  in  an  earlier  part  of  this  work, 
were  within  its  boundaries,  and  these  possessed 
churches  and  resident  pastors  from  an  early  date. 
The  celebrated  Jesuit  Father,  William  Wapeler, 
had  been  the  pioneer  missionary  of  this  region 
as  early  as  1741.  This  Diocese  also  is  more  im 
portant  011  account  of  its  episcopal  city  being 
also  ths  capital  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania. 
Rev.  Jeremiah  Francis  Shanahan,  rector  of  the 
preparatory  seminary  at  Glen  Riddle,  was  ap 
pointed  first  Bishop  of  Harrisburg ;  he  received 
consecration  on  July  12,  1868,  at  the  Philadel- 


DIOCESE  OF  HARRISBURG. 


phia  Cathedral,  from  the  hands  of  Archbishop 
Wood,  and  the  new  Bishop  took  possession  of 
his  See  and  was  installed  at  the  Pro-Cathedral  of 


St.  Patrick's  Pro-Cathedral,  Harrisburg,  Pa. 

St.  Patrick,  on  Sunday,  September  20.  The  in 
stallation  was  a  great  event  in  the  history  of 
Harrisburg.  The  ceremonies  were  performed  by 
Bishop  O'Hara,  of  Scranton,  with  an  imposing 
procession  through  the  streets  of  the  city,  a  sol 
emn  Pontifical  Mass  with  a  sermon  by  Bishop 
O'Hara,  and  an  address  from  Bishop  Shanahan ; 
solemn  Pontifical  Vespers  in  the  afternoon,  a 
sermon  by  Rev.  Pierce  Maher,  the  pastor  of  the 
church,  who  then  delivered  possession  of  the 
Pro-Cathedral  to  the  Bishop  ;  Benediction  of  the 
Blessed  Sacrament  closed  the  ceremonies.  The 
Diocese  then  possessed  a  Catholic  population 
estimated  at  twenty-five  thousand  scattered  over 
the  large  Diocese,  forty  churches  and  twenty-one 
stations  and  chapels,  twenty-two  priests,  three 
convents,  three  academies  and  seven  parochial 
schools.  The  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  were  at 
McSherrystown,  the  Sister  Servants  of  the  Im 
maculate  Heart  of  Mary  were  at  Lebanon,  and 
the  Sisters  of  St.  Francis  were  at  Lancaster. 

In  Harrisburg  there  were  only  two  churches — 
St.  Patrick's,  of  which  the  Bishop  became  the 
pastor  without  even  an  assistant,  and  St.  Law 
rence's  German  Church.  The  other  towns  hav 
ing  two  parishes  were  Lancaster — where  there 
were  two  priests  at  St.  Mary's  and  one  at  St. 
Joseph's — Columbia,  York  and  Danville ;  and 


there   were   three  Jesuit  fathers   at  Conewago. 
In   many  of  the   counties  there  was  only  one 
priest,  in  some  none  at  all,  and  some   of  the 
parishes  on  the  western  border  were  served  from 
the  Diocese  of  Pittsburgh.     Generally  the  priests 
had  to  travel  a  considerable  distance  to  find  a 
brother  priest  to  hear  their   confessions.     The 
other  towns  having  resident  pastors  were  Lykens, 
Lebanon,  Elizabethtown,  Gettysburg,  Chambers- 
burg,    Bonaghtown,    Bellefonte,    Lock    Haven, 
Milton  and  Shamokin.     There  was  an  average 
of  nearly  three  missions  to  every  priest.     The 
churches  and  chapels  generally  were  poor;  small 
and  temporary  buildings,  mostly  of  wood  and  out 
of  repair.     A  visitation  was  made,  eleven  new 
churches  were  erected,  and  the  number  of  the 
priests  was  increased  to  forty-five,  making  one  for 
nearly  every  church.     Bishop  Shanahan's  paro 
chial  work  at  St.  Patrick's  was  severe  in  itself  for 
one  pastor,  but  the  whole  Diocese  received  episco 
pal  ministrations.    So  great  was  the  sympathy  felt 
for  Bishop  Shanahan's  severe  and  solitary  labors 
at  St.  Patrick's  that  it  was  suggested  to  request 
of  the   Holy    See   the   removal   of  the   See   to 
Lebanon,  and   giving   him   St.   Mary's  Church 
there  for  his  Cathedral ;  but  Bishop  Shanahan 
surprised  all  by  undertaking  the  erection  of  a 
fine  Cathedral  worthy  of  the  capital  of  the  State. 
He  purchased   the  property  of  Colonel  Brant, 
called   "The  Height,"  five  acres,  commanding 
an  extensive  view.     The  unfinished  residence  of 
Colonel  Brant  was  converted  into  an  excellent 
school  and  convent  of  the  Sisters  of  Mercy.     For 
collecting  the  means  of  building  the  new  Cathe 
dral  the  Bishop  visited  the  parishes  of  his  own 
and  neighboring  Dioceses,  and  every  church  was 
thrown  open  to  and  resounded  with  his  eloquent 
appeals.     The  prosecution  of  this  great  work,  by 
his   death,   was   left   to    his   successor.     Parish 
schools  were  established  in  every  parish  able  to 
support  one,  and  the  proportion  of  children  at 
tending  the  schools  in  this  comparatively  new 
Diocese  was  exceeded  in  only  four  or  five  other 
and  oldest  Dioceses  in  the  United  States,  making 
an  aggregate  of  twenty-nine  parish  schools,  at 
tended  by  over  four  thousand  pupils.     A  theo 
logical    seminary    was    established    by    Bishop 
Shanahan    at    his    own    residence    on    Sylvan 
Heights,  under  the  direction  of  Rev.  Messimo 
Cassini,  formerly  of  Mt.   St.  Mary's,  Emmitts- 


i8 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  PHILADELPHIA. 


burg,  in  which  he  had  five  students,  now  in 
creased  under  Bishop  McGovern  to  nine.  A 
new  church  was  built  in  the  suburbs  of  Steelton, 
and  attended  from  the  Cathedral.  Very  Rev. 
M.  J.  McBride  was  rector  of  the  Cathedral  and 
Vicar-General,  and  Rev.  C.  A.  Koppernagle, 
pastor  of  the  German  Church,  was  Chancellor. 
New  parishes  were  formed  in  every  part  of  the 
Diocese  by  detaching  sections  of  outlying  mis 
sions  from  old  ones,  and  old  parishes  thus  sub 
divided,  which  before  their  subdivision  had  but 
one  priest,  now  had  two  or  three,  and  kept  them 
busy.  Additional  German  parishes  were  organ 
ized  in  Lancaster  and  Lock  Haven,  and  Polish 
congregations  in  Shamokin  and  Mt.  Carmel. 
Bishop  Shanahan  increased  the  number  of  his 
priests  to  over  fifty,  and  he  left  to  his  successor 
fifty-one  churches,  and  twenty-four  chapels  and 
stations,  three  flourishing  orphan  asylums,  and 
a  large  and  prosperous  hospital,  St.  Joseph's  at 
Lancaster,  under  the  Sisters  of  St.  Francis. 
Provision  was  made  for  higher  education  by  the 
establishment  of  eight  flourishing  academies,  and 
a  high  school  at  Shamokin.  The  Sisters  of 
Mercy,  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  Sisters  of  Charity, 
Sisters  of  Christian  Charity,  Sisters  of  St.  Fran 


cis,  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross  and  the  Polish 
Sisters  of  St.  Felician  conduct  academies  and 
schools  in  various  towns  of  the  Diocese.  Bishop 
Shanahan's  labors  prostrated  his  health ;  his 
death  occurred  on  September  24,  1886.  Very 
Rev.  M.  J.  McBride  was  administrator  of  the 
Diocese  of  Harrisburg  until  a  new  Bishop  was 
appointed. 

The  Holy  See  appointed  a  second  Bishop  of 
Harrisburg — Rev.  James  McGovern,  pastor  of 
St.  Joseph's  Church  at  Danville,  and  a  member 
of  Bishop  Shanahan's  council.  The  new  Bishop 
was  consecrated  March  n,  1888,  and,  in  the 
single  year  he  has  administered  the  Diocese,  not 
only  has  a  vigorous  beginning  been  made,  bitt 
also  solid  progress  accomplished.  New  parochial 
schools  have  been  opened  at  Locust  Gap,  Steel- 
ton  and  Chambersburg ;  the  priests  of  the  Dio 
cese  have  been  increased  from  fifty-one  to  fifty- 
eight  ;  the  churches  to  fifty-three,  twenty-one 
chapels  and  five  stations ;  and  there  has  been  a 
solid  increase  in  the  Catholic  population  of  the 
Diocese,  which  now  numbers  about  thirty-six 
thousand  five  hundred.  The  Diocese  contains 
twenty  convents.  Five  Jesuit  fathers  conduct 
the  old  missions  of  Conewago  and  neighborhood. 


DIOCESE  OF  SCRANTON. 

THE  Diocese  of  Scranton  was  founded  March     Wayne,  Tioga,  Sullivan,  Wyoming,  Lycoming, 
3,  1868,  having  been  included  in  the  Diocese  of     Pike  and  Monroe.     Rev.  William  O'Hara,  then 

Vicar-General  of  Bishop  Wood,  was  its  first 
Bishop;  he  was  consecrated  July  12,  1868.  At 
that  time  the  Sisters  of  the  Immaculate  Heart 
of  Mary  had  two  convents,  one  at  Pittston  and 
one  at  Susquehanna  Depot.  Since  then  their 
novitiate  at  Carbondale  has  been  established,  and 
their  Convents  of  St.  Cecilia  at  Scrauton,  Immac 
ulate  Heart  of  Mary  at  Williamsport,  the  con 
vent  at  Dushore  and  Convent  of  the  Holy  Ro 
sary  at  Providence.  The  Sisters  of  Christian 
Charity  have  come  and  founded  their  novitiate 
at  Wilkesbarre,  where  the  provincial  superior 
of  the  United  States  resides  ;  the  Sisters  of  Mercy 
have  also  come  into  the  Diocese  and  founded  their 
convents  at  Wilkesbarre,  Hazleton,  Plymouth 

St.  Peter's  Cathedral,  Scranton,  Pa.  and  at  Plains.    The  College  of  St.  Thomas  Aqui 

nas  has  been  established  at  Scranton,  and  acad- 

Philadelphia ;    it  includes    the  counties   of  Lu-     emies  or  select  schools  by  the  Sisters  of  Chris- 
zerne,     Lackawanna,     Bradford,     Susquehanna,     tian  Charity,  Sisters  of  Mercy  or  Sisters  of  the 


DIOCESE  OF  SCRANTON. 


Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary  at  Wilkesbarre, 
Scranton,  Carboudale,  Pittston,  Susquehauna 
and  Providence.  During  Bishop  O'Hara's  admin 
istration  the  number  of  priests  has  been  in 
creased  from  twenty -eight  to  eighty-nine,  churches 
and  missions  from  ninety  to  two  hundred  and 
forty,  convents  from  two  to  twenty-two,  academies 
from  two  to  nine,  parochial  schools  from  eight 
to  twenty-three,  with  nearly  eight  thousand 
pupils  ;  over  one  thousand  children  are  attending 
college,  academies  or  select  schools. 

The  Diocese  of  Scranton  is  well  organized  un 
der  Bishop  O'Hara's  prompt  and  energetic  ad 
ministration.  Besides  Bishop,  Vicar-General, 
Chancellor  and  Secretary,  and  Bishop's  Council, 
there  are  six  diocesan  consulters,  six  examiners 


of  the  clergy,  six  examiners  of  teachers  in  the 
parochial  schools,  three  rural  deans  and  a 
Bishop's  Court,  consisting  of  promotor  fiscalis,  de 
fender  of  matrimony  and  a  clerk.  The  Catholic 
population  consists  of  nearly  a  hundred  thousand 
souls.  There  is  a  theological  seminary,  a  col 
lege  in  course  of  erection,  and  at  Millinckrodt 
Convent  is  the  Mother  House  and  Novitiate  of 
Sisters  of  Christian  Charity  in  the  United 
States,  where  the  Rev.  Mother  Superior-General, 
Mother  Mathild  Kothe,  resides.  The  other  re 
ligious  communities  in  the  State  are  the  Sisters 
of  the  Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary  and  the  Sisters 
of  Mercy.  The  parochial  schools  are  in  the 
charge  of  the  Sisters  of  the  Immaculate  Heart 
of  Mary  and  the  Sisters  of  Charity. 


MOST  REV.  PATRICK  JOHN  RYAN,  D.D., 


SECOND  ARCHBISHOP  OF  PHILADELPHIA. 


ATRICK  J.  RYAN  was  born 
in  1831  near  Thurles,  in  the 
County  of  Tipperary,  Ireland, 
on  a  farm  tilled  by  his  pa 
rents.     His  father,  Jeremiah 
Ryan,    died    when     he    was 
young.     A  good  and  energetic  mother 
sent   him  to   the    Christian  Brothers' 
school    in   Thurles,    and    he    showed 
such    assiduity   as    to    give    promise 
of   future   eminence.      Showing    early 
1  *  signs  of  a  vocation  to  the   holy  min 

istry,  he  entered  a  Latin  and  Greek  school 
at  Dublin,  where  he  was  among  the  foremost 
students  for  native  ability  and  close  study.  His 
talents  for  oratory  were  then  manifest,  for  he 
was  selected  to  deliver  an  address  in  behalf  of 
the  school  to  the  imprisoned  patriot,  Daniel 
O'Connell,  and  acquitted  himself  well.  He  of 
fered  himself  to  the  Diocese  of  St.  Louis,  Mo., 
was  accepted,  and  sent  as  a  St.  Louis  student 
to  Carlow  College.  He  distinguished  himself 
among  the  students  of  Carlow,  made  an  un 
usually  successful  course  of  philosophy,  theol 
ogy  and  kindred  studies,  and  cultivated  a  fine 
literary  taste  and  style.  He  contributed  a  num 
ber  of  well-written  and  solid  articles  on  impor 
tant  subjects  to  the  magazines  of  the  day.  In 
1853,  being  then  in  deacon's  orders,  he  came  to 
St.  Louis.  Not  having  attained  the  requisite 
age  for  the  priesthood,  he  spent  the  time  of 
waiting  at  Carondelet  Seminary  in  study  and 
preparation.  In  1854  he  was  ordained  priest  by 
Archbishop  Peter  Richard  Kenrick,  who  took 
him  to  the  Cathedral  Church  as  one  of  his  as 
sistants. 

Subsequently  he  was  appointed  pastor  of  the 
Church  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  where  he 
showed  his  zeal  and  ability  as  a  leader  and  guide 
for  souls,  and  as  an  eloquent  and  effective 
preacher  of  the  word  of  God.  Such  were  his 
talents  for  business  and  knowledge  of  ecclesias 
tical  affairs  that  he  was  made  Vicar-General,  and 
in  this  active  and  important  office,  which  he 
held  till  1872,  he  rendered  important  services  to 

(20) 


the  Diocese,  and  lightened  the  labors  of  Arch 
bishop  Kenrick.  He  accompanied  Archbishop 
Kenrick  to  Europe  in  1868,  and  at  Rome  he  was 
chosen  to  preach  the  Lenten  sermons.  His  rep 
utation,  already  considerable  as  a  pulpit  orator 
in  America,  now  became  European,  for  ecclesias 
tics  and  laymen  attended  his  sermons  in  great 
numbers,  and  all  were  moved  by  his  eloquence 
and  instructed  by  his  learning.  His  activity 
and  usefulness  in  the  Diocese  of  St.  Louis  were 
highly  esteemed  by  his  superior,  and  by  the 
priests  and  people  of  Missouri. 

In  1872  Archbishop  Kenrick  applied  to  Rome 
for  a  co-adjutor,  and,  his  request  being  granted, 
Dr.  Ryan  was  chosen  for  that  office.  He  was 
consecrated  at  St.  Louis  by  Archbishop  Kenrick 
on  April  14,  1872,  under  the  title  of  Bishop  of 
Tricomia,  to  the  great  delight  of  the  priests  and 
laity  of  the  Archdiocese.  As  co-adjutor  Bishop 
his  labors  in  that  extensive  Diocese  were  great 
and  unceasing.  He  was  ever  ready  for  the 
most  exhausting  labors,  and  at  the  various 
points  where  he  performed  fatiguing  episcopal 
labors  he  was  ever  fresh  and  willing  to  instruct 
and  edify  the  people  with  one  of  his  splendid 
sermons.  He  was  frequently  invited  to  preach 
on  important  ecclesiastical  occasions  in  other 
Dioceses,  and  always  manifested  a  generous  will 
ingness  to  respond  to  the  call  of  his  brethren. 
He  relieved  his  Archbishop  of  a  great  share  of 
the  episcopal  labors  of  the  Diocese,  and  ably  car 
ried  into  effect  the  well-considered  plans  of  the 
Metropolitan.  He  was  raised  to  the  Archi- 
episcopal  dignity  under  the  title  of  Archbishop 
of  Salamis  in  January,  1884. 

When  Philadelphia  needed  an  Archbishop  to 
succeed  Archbishop  Wood  in  1884,  the  clergy 
and  people  of  that  Diocese  ardently  desired  Dr. 
Ryan.  His  promotion  to  the  See  of  Philadel 
phia  gave  universal  pleasure ;  and  the  people  of 
Philadelphia  manifested  their  exceeding  great 
joy  by  according  to  him  an  ovation  and  a  pub 
lic  welcome,  which  exceeded  all  similar  demon 
strations  in  America.  His  warm  and  eloquent 
words  struck  the  finest  chords  in  the  hearts  of 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  PHILADELPHIA. 


21 


his  people  and  priests,  and  he  and  they  have 
labored  most  cordially  together  in  the  great 
work  of  the  Church.  There  is  no  religious  inter 
est  in  the  Diocese  that  has  not  received  special 
recognition  and  encouragement  at  his  hands.  The 
great  Seminary  of  St.  Charles  Borromeo  has  ad 
vanced  under  his  generous  encouragement.  So, 
too,  with  the  Lazarists  at  Germantown  and  the 
Augustinians  at  Villa  Nova.  Religious  com 
munities,  male  and  female,  have  grown  in  pros 
perity  under  his  broad  and  liberal  encourage 
ment  ;  colleges  and  academies  have  found  in 
him  a  friend,  while  hospitals,  asylums,  homes, 
and  every  form  of  organized  charity  have  received 
new  impetus  from  his  zeal  and  charity.  His 
visit  to  Rome  in  1888,  during  the  celebration  of 
the  Pope's  Golden  Jubilee,  was  full  of  interest 
ing  and  instructive  incidents.  He  presented  to 
the  Holy  Father  a  munificent  offering  from  his 
flock,  and  he  received  many  marks  of  approval 
and  admiration  from  Leo  XIII.,  to  whom  he  im 
parted  much  of  interest  in  relation  to  the  Church 
in  America.  Archbishop  Ryan  has  taken  a 
deep  and  active  interest  in  the  American  Catho 
lic  University.  He  has  warmly  approved  and 
encouraged  the  promotion  of  the  American  Cath 
olic  Historical  Society.  At  the  Third  Plenary 
Council  of  Baltimore  he  was  chosen  to  preach  the 
first  of  the  public  sermons,  his  subject  being  "  The 
Church  in  her  Councils."  Religion,  education 
and  charity  have  progressed  and  prospered  under 
his  energetic  administration.  He  has  in  four 
years  increased  the  number  of  his  churches  and 
priests,  schools,  asylums  and  other  houses  of 
charity.  Ten  additional  parochial  schools  have 
been  opened,  and  the  children  attending  paro 
chial  schools  have  risen  from  twenty  thousand 
to  twenty-five  thousand.  The  Catholic  popula 


tion  of  the  Diocese  is  about  four  hundred  thou 
sand. 

When  the  American  delegation  called  upon 
Pope  Leo  XIII.,  during  the  celebration  of  the 
Holy  Father's  Golden  Jubilee,  Archbishop  Ryan 
was  at  the  head  of  the  delegation,  and  was  their 
spokesman.  On  this  occasion  the  Archbishop 
was  the  bearer  of  the  present  sent  by  President 
Cleveland  to  the  Holy  Father,  which  was  a  beau 
tifully  bound  copy  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States.  In  presenting  this  appropriate 
gift  to  the  Pope  Archbishop  Ryan  said : 

"  While,  then,  Your  Holiness  receives  the  ex 
pression  of  the  respect  of  the  kingly  govern 
ments  of  the  world,  receive,  also,  the  tribute  of 
a  free  and  independent  people  .  .  .  — a  people 
naturally  Christian,  brave,  generous  and  just, 
whose  future  is  likely  to  vie  with  the  past  of  any 
nation  in  the  history  of  our  race.  ...  In  Your 
Holiness'  admirable  Encyclical,  Immortale  Dei, 
you  truly  state  that  the  Church  is  wedded  to  no 
particular  form  of  government.  Your  favorite 
theologian,  St.  Thomas  Aquinas,  has  written 
true  and  beautiful  things  concerning  republican 
ism.  In  our  American  Republic  the  Catholic 
Church  is  left  perfectly  free  to  act  out  her  sacred 
and  beneficent  mission  to  the  human  race  .  .  . 
— free  by  constitutional  guarantees.  In  the 
volume  which  we  have  the  distinguished  honor 
to  present  to  Your  Holiness  from  His  Excel 
lency  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and 
which  contains  the  Constitution  of  those  States, 
we  read  the  fundamental  provision  that  '  Con 
gress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establish 
ment  of  religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise 
thereof.'  We  beg  of  you,  then,  Holy  Father,  to 
bless  the  young  Republic  which  has  achieved  so 
much  in  a  single  century." 


RIGHT  REV.  RICHARD  PHELAN,  D.D., 


FOURTH    BISHOP  OF  PITTSBURGH. 


.  HEN  the  arduous  works 
of  two  united  Di 
oceses  needed  to 
be  shifted  from 
the  disabled 
shoulders  of  Bi 
shop  Tuigg  to 
those  of  another, 
Bishop  Phelan 
generously  ac 
cepted  the  task. 
He  was  born  on  January  i,  1825,  near  Ballyrag- 
get,  County  Kilkenny,  Ireland.  His  parents  were 
Michael  Phelan  and  Mary  Keoghan,  and  the 
home  atmosphere  by  which  the  future  Bishop 
was  surrounded  may  be  judged  from  the  fact 
that,  from  a  family  of  nine  children,  four  devoted 
themselves  to  religion  and  the  Church.  He 
enjoyed  good  instruction  in  private  and  at  the 
village  schools.  He  accepted  the  priestly  call 
at  an  early  age,  and  in  1844  entered  St.  Kyran's 
College,  Kilkenny.  Meeting  Bishop  O'Connor 
in  Ireland,  in  1850,  and  hearing  his  appeal,  he 
embraced  the  Pittsburgh  Mission,  reaching  that 
city  in  January.  Continuing  his  •  theological 
studies  at  St.  Mary's  Seminary,  at  Baltimore, 
he  received  ordination  from  Bishop  O'Connor  at 
Pittsburgh  on  May  4,  1854.  In  1854  the  cholera 
epidemic  visited  Pittsburgh,  and  Father  Phelan 
went  from  his  mission  in  Indiana  to  assist  the 
priests  of  the  city  in  the  care  of  and  ministra 


tions  to  the  sick  and  dying.  He  became  assist 
ant  at  the  Cathedral.  In  1857  he  was  sent  to 
Freeport,  where  an  extensive  mission  and  large 
financial  obligations  needed  an  energetic  priest 
and  good  manager,  which  were  found  in  him. 
He  next  became  pastor  of  St.  Peter's  at  Alle 
gheny,  where  his  abilities  were  conspicuous,  as 
testified  by  a  splendid  new  church  costing 
$150,000,  and  excellent  schools.  Such  was 
his  business  ability  that  he  paid  most  all  of 
the  immense  expense  thus  incurred.  In  Bishop 
Tuigg's  absence,  in  1881,  Father  Phelan  ad 
ministered  the  united  Dioceses  of  Pittsburgh 
and  Allegheny.  His  church  at  Allegheny  pro 
vided  a  pro-cathedral  for  that  Diocese.  He  was 
also  appointed  Vicar-General.  In  1885,  when  a 
Co-adjutor  was  needed,  Dr.  Phelan  was  appointed 
Co-adjutor  Bishop  of  the  two  Dioceses,  and  was 
consecrated  by  Archbishop  Ryan  at  Pittsburgh, 
August  2,  1885,  under  the  title  of  Bishop  of 
Cibyra.  As  Bishop  Phelan  had  been  appointed 
Co-adjutor  to  Bishop  Tuigg,  with  the  right  of 
succession,  he  became  Bishop  of  Pittsburgh  and 
Allegheny  on  the  day  of  Bishop  Tuigg's  death, 
December  7,  1889.  As  he  has  had  the  actual 
administration  of  the  Diocese  in  his  hands  ever 
since  1885,  when  he  was  appointed  Co-adjutor, 
the  present  prosperous  condition  of  the  Diocese 
owes  much  to  his  energy,  zeal  and  fine  adminis 
trative  abilities.  Bishop  Phelan  is  a  scholar  of 
the  highest  type. 


(22) 


IN  MANU  DEI    SUNT 


RIGHT   REV.    RICHARD    PHELAN,    D.  D. 

Bishop  of  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 


RIGHT   REV.    TOBIAS    MULLEN,    D.  D. 

Bishop  of  Erie. 


RIGHT   REV.    WILLIAM    O'HARA,   D.  D 

B 'is hop  of  Scran  ton. 


RIGHT   REV.    THOMAS    McGOVERN,    D.  D. 

Bishop  of  ffarrisbitrg. 


RIGHT  REV.  TOBIAS  MULLEN,  D.D., 


THIRD  BISHOP  OF  ERIE. 


O  provide  for  the  needy  and  ever- 
shifting  population  of  the  "  oil 
regions  "  has  made  the  labors 
of  Bishop  Mullen  both  arduous 
and  embarrassing.  He  was  born 
near  Urney,  County  Tyrone, 
Ireland,  his  parents  being  en 
gaged  in  farming,  and  was  the 
youngest  of  six  sons.  He  worked  on  his  father's 
farm,  attended  the  schools  of  Urney,  and  when 
opportunities  and  time  permitted  studied  L,atiii 
and  Greek  at  Castlefin.  He  was  chosen  for  the 
priesthood  on  account  of  his  talents  and  piety. 
So  successfully  did  he  make  the  school  examina 
tion  in  1840,  that  his  Bishop  selected  him  for 
education  at  the  Irish  College  of  Paris ;  but  in 
another  more  general  examination  of  the  schools 
of  the  Diocese  his  effort  was  so  brilliant  that 
he  was  sent  immediately  to  Maynooth  College. 
Bishop  O'Connor,  of  Pittsburgh,  won  his  heart 
and  his  services  for  the  American  Mission ;  he 
came  to  America,  allied  himself  with  the  Pitts 
burgh  Diocese,  and  completed  his  theological 
studies  at  that  city.  He  was  ordained  by  Bishop 
O'Connor  on  September  i,  1844,  and  served  as 
the  Bishop's  assistant  at  the  Cathedral  for  two 


years.  He  served  also  with  zeal  the  missions  in 
Jefferson  county  and  at  Johnstown  ;  and  was 
afterwards  appointed  pastor  of  St.  Peter's  Church 
in  Allegheny  City,  where  he  labored  faithfully 
for  thirteen  years.  He  was  also  Vicar-General 
under  Bishop  Domenec.  In  all  these  positions 
his  services  were  eminently  successful. 

On  the  death  of  Bishop  Young,  Father  Mullen 
was  appointed  Bishop  of  Erie,  receiving  consecra 
tion  August  2,  1868,  and  assuming  the  burden 
without  delay.  He  has  introduced  the  Redenip- 
torists,  who  have  founded  the  College  of  St.  Mary, 
"  Our  Lady  of  Perpetual  Help."  In  the  oil  regions 
great  efforts  had  to  be  made  to  meet  the  vicis 
situdes  of  fluctuating  populations ;  large  churches 
provided  for  the  swelling  tide  of  immigration 
afterwards  became  nearly  empty,  and  again  and 
again  the  tide  rose  and  fell.  Notwithstanding 
during  his  administration  the  Catholic  popula 
tion  has  doubled  from  thirty  thousand  to  sixty 
thousand.  Chvtrches  have  increased  from  fifty- 
five  to  one  hundred  and  four ;  parochial  schools 
from  thirteen  to  fifty,  besides  a  great  growth 
in  the  number  of  academies  and  private  schools, 
and  in  hospitals,  asylums  and  other  houses  of 
charity. 


RIGHT  REV.  WILLIAM   O'HARA.  D.D, 


FIRST   BISHOP  OF  SCRANTON. 


CCEPTING  twenty  years  ago  a 
new  Diocese,  Bishop  O'Hara 
has  brought  its  organization, 
its  religious,  ecclesiastical,  edu 
cational  and  charitable  in 
terests  to  a  high  degree  of 
development  and  fmitfulness. 
Born  in  County  Deny,  Ire 
land,  he  came,  when  quite  young,  with 
his  parents  to  Philadelphia  in  1820. 
Young  William  was  placed  first  at  a 
good  private  school,  and  when  still  quite . 
young  he  became  a  student  at  Georgetown  Col 
lege.  He  accepted  in  his  own  heart  a  vocation 
to  the  priesthood  when  only  sixteen  years  old, 
and  even  then  the  experienced  eye  of  Archbishop 
Francis  Patrick  Kenrick  of  Philadelphia  detected 
his  worth  of  character  and  mind,  and  he  sent  him 
to  the  Urban  College  of  the  Propaganda  at  Rome. 
He  made  a  complete  course  of  theology,  and 
was  ordained  in  1843.  He  served  as  professor 
of  theology  in  St.  Charles  Borromeo's  Seminary. 
He  discharged  the  important  and  laborious  duties 
of  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's  Church,  Philadelphia, 
for  thirteen  years.  In  1860  Bishop  Wood  ap 
pointed  him  his  Vicar-General,  and  for  eight 
years  he  rendered  good  services  to  the  vast 


Diocese    of     Philadelphia     in    this     important 
office. 

In  1868,  when  the  new  Diocese  of  Scranton 
was  parcelled  off  from  the  Diocese  of  Philadel 
phia,  embracing  the  counties  of  Luzerne,  Lacka- 
wanna,  Bradford,  Susquehanna,  Wayne,  Tioga, 
Sullivan,  Lycoming,  Pike  and  Monroe,  Father 
O'Hara  was  selected  and  consecrated  its  first 
Bishop  on  July  12.  Being  .mostly  a  country 
district,  he  found  much  to  repair,  restore  and 
renovate,  and  much  to  create.  He  has  greatly 
increased  all.  He  has  raised  the  number  of  his 
churches  from  fifty  to  eighty-three  and  fifteen 
stations ;  his  priests  from  twenty-eight  to  one 
hundred  and  seventy-four.  He  commenced  with 
one  religious  community,  the  Sisters  of  the  Im 
maculate  Heart  of  Mary ;  now  he  has  also  the 
Sisters  of  Christian  Charity,  Sisters  of  Mercy, 
with  numerous  schools,  academies  and  other 
works.  He  has  been  a  defender  of  ecclesiastical 
discipline,  and  at  great  expense  and  anxiety  has 
for  years  met  an  unjust  litigation  on  the  part  of 
one  of  his  priests,  a  Rev.  Mr.  Stack,  whom  he 
removed  from  his  church  and  who  resisted  his 
Bishop.  The  case  was  finally  decided  in  favor 
of  the  Bishop.  The  Diocese  has  now  a  Catholic 
population  of  ninety  thousand. 


RIGHT  REV.  THOMAS  McGOVERN,  D.  D, 


SECOND   BISHOP  OF   HARRISBURG. 


HOMAS  McGOVERN  was  ap 
pointed  to  succeed  one  of  the 
most  zealous  and  able  of  our 
Bishops,  and  in  continuing 
the  active  labors  of  Bishop 
Shanahan  has  shown  zeal, 
courage  and  ability  for  the 
task.  He  was  born  in  1833, 
in  County  Cavan,  Ireland; 
was  brought  by  his  parents  at  a  very  tender  age 
to  America,  and  the  family  made  their  residence 
on  a  farm  of  considerable  extent,  which  they 
cultivated,  near  Towanda,  Bradford  county, 
Pennsylvania.  Accustomed  to  the  hard  labor 
of  the  farm,  it  was  not  until  he  'was  nine 
teen  that  he  enjoyed  collegiate  training,  when 
he  entered  Mount  St.  Mary's,  Emmittsburg, 
where  he  graduated.  His  selection  of  the 
priestly  vocation  stimulated  his  studies  and  ef 
forts,  and  from  Mount  St.  Mary's  he  entered  the 
Theological  Seminary  of  St.  Charles  Borromeo, 
in  Philadelphia,  and,  having  finished  his  course 
successfully,  received  ordination  from  Bishop 
Wood,  December  27,  1862.  His  first  mission 


was  as  assistant  at  St.  Philip's  Church,  Phila 
delphia,  where  he  served  two  years,  and  then 
assisted  at  St.  Michael's.  He  was  then  ap 
pointed  pastor  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist  at 
Bellefonte,  Centre  county,  now  in  the  Diocese 
of  Harrisburg.  When  Bishop  Shanahan  went 
to  Harrisburg,  he  made  Father  McGovern  one 
of  his  council. 

He  was  next  made  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's 
Church  at  York,  and  in  June,  1873,  he  was  ap 
pointed  pastor  of  St.  Joseph's  Church  at  Dan 
ville,  where  he  served  well  and  successfully  until 
he  was  selected  by  the  Holy  See  to  succeed 
Bishop  Shanahan  as  Bishop  of  Harrisburg.  He 
was  consecrated  March  n,  1888,  and  has  entered 
vigorously  and  zealously  on  his  arduous  office. 
His  choice  was  universally  approved  by  clergy 
and  laity.  He  is  now  engaged  in  commencing 
new  missions  and  opening  new  schools,  while 
his  fostering  care  reaches  the  orphans  in  the 
asylums.  He  is  also  struggling  to  increase  the 
number  of  his  priests  by  new  vocations.  His 
efforts  have  given  promise  of  a  laborious  and 
successful  development  of  the  Diocese. 


Cathedral  of  the  Holy  Cross,   Boston,  Mass. 

CHAPTER  V. 
PROVINCE  OF  BOSTON. 

History  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Boston,  and  of  the  Suffragan  Dioceses  of  Burlington,  Hartford,  Portland,  Springfield,  Providence  and 

Manchester. 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  BOSTON. 


i]jHE  Archdiocese  of  Boston  em 
braces  all  the  New  England 
States.      Though    settled    by 
Puritans  from  England  in  the 
seventeenth     century,      New 
England  had  been  visited  by 
Catholic  Northmen  from  the 
tenth   to  the  fifteenth  centu 
ries.      Catholic    missionaries 
from    Canada   had    announced    the    gospel    to 
the  Indians  on  the  frontiers.     Catholicity  was 
first   effectively  preached   there  by   Rev.  John 

(26) 


Thayer,  a  convert,  in  1790,  by  Abbes  Ciquard 
and  Matignon  from  1792,  and  the  Abb6  Cheverus 
from  1796,  for  many  years.  The  See  of  Boston 
was  erected  by  Pope  Pius  VII.,  April  8,  1808, 
and  Right  Rev.  John  Cheverus  was  appointed 
its  first  Bishop,  who  was  consecrated  by  Arch 
bishop  Carroll  at  Baltimore,  November  i,  1810. 
His  labors  throughout  all  New  England  were 
most  successful.  In  1818  Abbe  Matignon,  his 
faithful  friend,  died.  In  1823  Bishop  Cheverus 
was  summoned  to  his  native  France,  and  made 
Bishop  of  Montauban,  afterwards  Archbishop  of 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  BOSTON. 


27 


Bordeaux,  and  Cardinal.  Among  his  many  ser-  wick  found  two  churches  and  two  priests  in  New 
vices  to  religion  in  Boston  he  had  introduced  the  England  in  1825.  The  Diocese  of  Hartford  was 
Ursuline  Nuns,  who  had  opened  a  school.  In  1825  erected  in  1841,  and  embraced  the  States  of  Con- 
Rev.  Benedict  Joseph  Fenwick  was  appointed  necticut  and  Rhode  Island.  In  1846  the  Diocese 
second  Bishop  of  Boston.  He  was  consecrated  possessed  fifty  churches,  fifty  priests,  an  orphan 
November  i,  and  installed  at  the  old  Church  of  asylum,  and  many  Catholic  schools.  On  July 
the  Holy  Cross  on  December  21.  Besides  Rev.  4,  1854,  the  Catholic  church  at  Dorchester,  then 
John  Thayer,  the  family  of  Mr.  Barber,  a  daugh-  in  course  of  erection,  was  blown  up  by  unknown 
ter  of  General  Ethan  Allen,  Rev.  Mr.  Tyler,  af-  ruffians.  At  the  same  time  a  fanatic,  named 
terwards  Bishop  of  Hartford,  and  many  others  Orr,  who  assumed  the  title  of  "Angel  Gabriel," 
of  education,  became  Catholics  in  New  England,  excited,  by  his  appeals  in  the  streets  of  Bath,  tlie 
Under  Bishop  Fenwick  religion  made  rapid  anti-Catholic  mob,  which  fired  and  destroyed  the 
strides.  Churches  and  schools  were  established, 
congregations  formed,  the  Indians  of  Maine  were 
visited,  and,  in  1826,  he  received  the  Ursuline 
Sisters  in  the  new  home  he  had  purchased  and 
erected  for  them  at  Mt.  Benedict,  in  Charles- 
town.  He  added  greatly  to  his  clergy.  Rev. 
Charles  Ffrench,  Rev.  John  Mahony,  Rev.  Mr. 
Byrne,  Rev.  Virgil  Barber,  Rev.  Mr.  Kellogg  and 

Father  Romagn6  were  among  the  worthy  and  The  Massachusetts  Legislature  appointed  a  corn- 
laborious  priests  of  this  vast  Diocese.  The  mittee  to  intrude  upon  Catholic  convents,  under 
Bishop's  visitations  extended  over  the  whole  of  the  guise  of  investigating  them.  In  1859  a 
New  England,  and  were  most  efficacious  and  school  controversy  was  precipitated  on  Catholics 
fruitful  of  good.  Religion  was  restored  to  a  sue-  by  the  whipping  of  a  Catholic  boy  for  refusing 
cessful  condition  among  the  Catholic  Indians  of  to  join  in  religious  exercises  in  a  public  school ; 
Maine.  Churches  or  stations  were  founded  or  the  calm  and  unanswerable  letter  of  Bishop  Fitz- 
rebuilt  at  Salem,  Eastport,  Pleasant  Point, 
Claremont,  Bangor,  New  Castle,  Whitefield, 
Portland,  Saco,  Charlestown,  Orono,  Dover, 
Hartford,  Pawtucket,  and  other  places.  On  the 
night  of  August  n,  1834,  the  Ursuline  Convent 
at  Mt.  Benedict  was  destroyed  by  fire  applied  by 
an  infuriated  and  bigoted  mob  of  Boston,  an 
event  which  has  only  found  its  atonement  in  the 
wonderful  growth  of  Catholicity  in  New  Eng 
land  and  especially  in  Massachusetts,  ever  since. 
In  1829  tne  first  Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore 


Catholic  church.  A  Know-Nothing  riot  broke 
out  at  Manchester,  and  the  mob  were  proceeding 
to  destroy  the  church,  after  having  attacked  the 
Catholic  quarter  of  the  city  and  scattered  its 
inhabitants,  when  the  city  authorities  interfered, 
and  saved  the  church.  In  October,  1854,  the 
"  Ellsworth  outrage  "  occurred,  in  which  Father 
Bapst,  a  holy  priest,  was  tarred  and  feathered. 


was  held,  in  which  all  New  England  was  repre 
sented  by  Bishop  Fenwick.  In  1843  the  Col 
lege  of  the  Holy  Cross  was  founded  at  Worces 
ter,  and  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  Jesuits  of 
Georgetown,  of  whom  Bishop  Fenwick  had  been 
one  before  his  consecration.  So  great  were  his 


patrick  went  far  to  calm  the  excitement.  In 
1853  the  Sees  of  Burlington  and  Portland  were 
erected,  thus  leaving  Massachusetts  alone  in  the 
Diocese  of  Boston.  The  new  Cathedral  of  the 
Holy  Cross  was  commenced.  The  Diocese,  thus 
reduced,  possessed  no  priests,  115  churches,  and 
many  institutions.  New  England  now  had  four 
Dioceses.  Bishop  Fitzpatrick  died  February  13, 
1866.  It  was  a  credit  to  Boston  that,  at  his 
funeral,  such  honors  were  paid  to  a  Catholic 
Bishop.  The  bells  of  the  city  tolled  as  the 
remains  passed  through  the  streets  and  during 
the  funeral  service.  The  Governor  of  Massa 
chusetts,  the  Mayor  and  officials  of  the  city,  and 
the  most  distinguished  citizens,  attended  the 
services,  in  company  with  ten  Bishops  and  140 
priests.  On  January  9,  1866,  Very  Rev.  John 


duties  and  labors  that  he  received  a  co-adjutor  in    Joseph  Williams  was  appointed  co-adjutor  Bishop, 


1844  in  the  person  of  Rev.  John  B.  Fitzpatrick. 
Bishop  Fenwick  died  on  August  u,  1846,  uni 
versally  honored  and  lamented. 

Right  Rev.  John  Bernard  Fitzpatrick  now  suc 
ceeded  as  third  Bishop  of  Boston.     Bishop  Fen- 


under  the  title  of  Bishop  of  Tripoli,  but  Bishop 
Fitzpatrick  died  before  his  consecration.  He 
succeeded  to  the  See  of  Boston,  the  history  of 
which  will  be  continued  in  the  life  of  Dr.  Wil 
liams  herein. 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  BOSTON. 


DIOCESE  OF  BURLINGTON. 


THE  Diocese   of    Burlington  was   erected  in 
1853.     It  embraces  the  State  of  Vermont,  and 


Cathedral  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  Burlington,  Vt. 

the  Right  Rev.  Louis  de  Goesbriand,  who  was 
consecrated  on  October  30,  1853,  and  took  pos 
session  of  his  See  on  November  6,  was  the  first 
Bishop  and  still  continues  to  fill  the  See  with 
ability  and  success.  Though  a  chapel  was 
erected  at  the  fort  on  Isle  La  Motte  in  1666,  and 
Father  Matignon  visited  Vermont  in  1815,  and 
several  priests  and  Bishop  Fenwick  had  minis 
tered  to  the  Catholics  there,  it  was  not  until  1830 


that  the  State  had  a  permanent  pastor,  Rev. 
Jeremiah  O'Callaghan.  In  1853,  on  the  arrival 
of  Bishop  de  Goesbriand,  the  Diocese  possessed 
eight  churches  and  five  priests.  The  Diocese  was 
well  organized.  The  need  for  schools,  institu 
tions  and  priests  was  energetically  met  and  sup 
plied.  The  Sisters  of  Providence  were  the  first 
religious  to  come ;  they  opened  the  first  school, 
received  the  first  orphans  and  attended  to  the 
sick.  From  Burlington  the  Sisters  of  Providence 
sent  a  colony  of  their  community  to  Winooski, 
and  from  not  having  a  single  school  the  Bishop 
soon  had  schools  at  Burlington,  Winooski  and 
Rutland.  The  present  elegant  cathedral  was 
erected,  and  the  Catholic  population  increased 
throughout  the  Diocese.  The  Diocese  had  also 
the  happiness  of  receiving  the  Sisters  of  Mercy, 
the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  and  the  Sisters  of  the 
Congregation  of  Our  Lady.  St.  Joseph's  Col 
lege  was  founded  by  the  Bishop  and  four  female 
academies.  The  priests  now  number  near  fifty- 
five,  religious  women  one  hundred  and  thirty, 
twenty-two  ecclesiastical  students,  seventy-seven 
churches,  fifteen  convents,  eighteen  parochial 
schools,  with  four  thousand  six  hundred  pupils, 
and  a  Catholic  population  of  forty-six  thousand. 
The  Sisters  of  Providence  conduct  the  Provi 
dence  Orphan  Asylum. 


DIOCESE  OF  HARTFORD. 


THE  Diocese  of  Hartford  formed  a  part  of  the 
original  Diocese  of  Boston,  from  which  it  was 
formed  by  Papal  Bulls  dated  September  30,  1843. 
Its  first  Bishop  was  Right  Rev.  William  Tyler, 
a  convert,  who  was  consecrated  by  Bishop  Fen- 
wick,  of  Boston,  on  March  17,  1844.  The  Dio 
cese  then  embraced  the  States  of  Rhode  Island 
and  Connecticut  and  contained  only  six  priests. 
Providence  became  the  residence  of  the  Bishop 
and  the  Church  of  Saints  Peter  and  Paul  the 
Cathedral.  The  Diocese  received  important  aid 
from  the  Leopoldine  Society  at  Vienna.  It  was 
represented  by  Bishop  Tyler  in  the  Sixth  and 


Seventh  Provincial  Councils  of  Baltimore.  While 
a  Co-adjutor  Bishop  was  proposed  owing  to 
Bishop  Tyler's  ill-health,  he  died  on  June  18, 
1849,  when  the  Diocese  possessed  twelve 
churches,  four  chapels,  seven  ecclesiastical 
students  and  a  Catholic  population  of  twenty 
thousand  souls.  The  Right  Rev.  Bernard 
O'Reilly  was  the  next  Bishop  of  Hartford.  He 
was  consecrated  on  November  10,  1850,  and  for 
five  years  churches,  priests  and  institutions  were 
increased,  and  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  were  in 
troduced.  In  1855  an  attempt  was  made  to  mob 
the  Convent  of  Mercy  at  Providence,  but  the 


DIOCESE  OF  PORTLAND. 


29 


Bishop  faced  the  mob  and  protected  the  Sisters.  Right  Rev.  Francis  Patrick  McFarland,  who  was 
His  death  at  sea  in  January,  1856,  produced  a  consecrated  Bishop  on  March  14,  1858.  Provi 
dence  continued  the  episcopal  residence  until 
1872,  when  the  new  See  of  Providence  was 
erected  and  Bishop  McFarland  removed  to  Hart 
ford.  The  Franciscan  Fathers  had  been  intro 
duced  and  built  their  convent  at  Winsted.  The 
Christian  Brothers,  Sisters  of  Charity,  Sisters  of 
the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis  and  Sisters  of 
the  Congregation  came.  Immediately  after  the 
removal  of  Bishop  McFarland  to  Hartford  he 
purchased  the  fine  property  on  Farmington  avenue 
and  planned  the  erection  of  the  new  cathedra!, 
the  Mother  House  of  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  an 
episcopal  residence  and  the  pro-cathedral.  The 
corner-stones  of  the  latter  and  of  the  Convent  of 
Mercy  were  laid  on  May  i,  1873,  and  the  build 
ings  dedicated  on  November  29.  On  October  2, 
1874,  when  Bishop  McFarland  died,  the  Diocese 
possessed  eighty-nine  churches,  sixty  chapels 
and  stations,  seventy-six  priests,  one  male  and 
eleven  female  academies,  eighteen  male  and 
twenty  female  parochial  schools,  three  asylums 
and  a  Catholic  population  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand.  The  Augustinian  Father  Thomas 
Galberry  was  fourth  Bishop  of  Hartford  and  was 
consecrated  on  March  19,  1876.  The  new  cathe 
dral  was  commenced  August  30,  1876.  The 
Connecticut  Catholic  was  founded  and  great  in 
crease  made  in  every  work.  He  died  at  New 

St.  Joseph's  Cathedral,  Hartford,  Conn.  /-N   .    i  oo        r>  •    -U,.    r> 

York  on  October  10,   1878.     Right  Rev.  Lau- 

profound  sensation.     Rhode  Island  and  Connec-     rence  McMahon,  present  Bishop,  was  consecrated 
ticut   next   passed   under   the  spiritual  care  of     on  August  10,  1879. 


DIOCESE  OF  PORTLAND. 


THE  Diocese  of  Portland  was  erected  in  1855 
out  of  that  of  Boston,  and  originally  contained 
the  States  of  Maine  and  New  Hampshire,  but  in 
1884  New  Hampshire  was  detached  into  another 
Diocese.  The  French  were  the  first  to  introduce 
Catholicity  into  Maine,  and  the  ancient  missions 
at  Boone  Island  and  Mount  Desert,  no  less  than 
the  early  Catholic  Indian  Missions  and  the  mar 
tyrdom  of  Father  Rale  in  the  midst  of  his  In 
dian  flock,  lend  deep  interest  to  the  history  of 
this  Diocese.  St.  Dominick's  Church  was  used 
as  a  cathedral,  and  the  Cathedral  of  the  Immacu 


late  Conception  was  commenced  in  the  spring 
of  1856.  The  two  States  then  possessed  twenty- 
seven  churches,  and  nine  others  were  building  or 
projected.  Eighteen  priests  attended  the  scat 
tered  missions,  and  the  Catholics  numbered  forty 
thousand.  The  Jesuits  and  Franciscans  were 
already  in  the  Diocese,  the  former  in  Maine,  the 
latter  in  New  Hampshire.  The  Sisters  of  Mercy 
were  invited  into  the  Diocese  by  Bishop  Bacon, 
and,  having  established  their  convent  at  Port 
land,  have  since  founded  schools  and  institutions 
in  many  places,  including  Indian  schools  at  the 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  BOSTON. 


Northeast  and  schools  for  the  Canadians  in  the 
Madawaska  district  and  elsewhere.  Great  preju 
dice  existed  in  Maine,  and  in  New  Hampshire  es- 


Cathedral  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  Portland,  Me. 

pecially.  The  year  before  the  Bishop's  arrival 
the  good  Jesuit  Father  Bapst  had  been  tarred  and 
feathered  at  Ellsworth,  and  several  Catholic 


churches  in  the  Diocese  had  been  either  burned 
by  bigoted  mobs  or  pillaged  and  desecrated,  and 
the  street  fanatic  Orr,  calling  himself  the  "An 
gel  Gabriel,"  had  incited  the  mob  at  Bath  to  at 
tack  the  church  and  reduce  it  to  ashes.  For 
nineteen  years  Catholics,  their  Bishop  and 
priests,  bore  the  odium  cast  upon  them  by  their 
enemies,  but  the  mildness,  firmness,  prudence 
and  good  example  of  Bishop  Bacon  repressed 
and  lived  down  much  of  this  hatred.  The 
cathedral  at  Portland  was  commenced  in  1866, 
and  after  many  sacrifices  erected  and  dedi 
cated  on  September  8,  1870.  In  1864  the  Sisters 
of  Notre  Dame  from  Montreal  were  introduced 
and  took  charge  of  parochial  schools.  On  July 
4,  1866,  a  dreadful  fire  swept  Portland  and  left 
little  for  the  Church  behind,  destroying  cathedral 
chapel,  episcopal  residence,  Sisters'  house  and 
academy.  The  Bishop,  his  priests  and  people 
bravely  restored  all  with  many  sacrifices.  Bishop 
Bacon  died  at  New  York  on  November  5,  1874, 
leaving  his  Diocese  with  fifty-eight  churches,  six 
new  ones  building,  fifty-two  priests,  four  religious 
communities,  two  asylums,  six  academies,  twenty 
parochial  schools  and  eighty  thousand  Catholics. 
He  was  succeeded,  in  1875,  by  Right  Rev.  James 
Augustine  Healy,  the  present  Bishop. 


DIOCESE  OF  SPRINGFIELD. 

THE  See  of  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  was 
erected  in  June,  1870,  receiving  from  the  parent 
Diocese  of  Boston  the  counties  of  Berkshire, 
Franklin,  Hampshire,  Hampden  and  Worcester. 
The  principal  educational  institution  in  the  Dio 
cese  is  the  College  of  the  Holy  Cross  at  Wor 
cester,  which  was  founded  by  Bishop  Fenwick 
and  placed  under  the  care  of  the  Jesuit  Fathers. 
The  field  had  been  well  cultivated,  for  the  new 
Diocese  at  its  creation  possessed  fifty-four 
churches  and  forty  secular  priests,  besides  the 
Fathers  attached  to  the  College  of  the  Holy 
Cross.  There  were  only  three  schools,  one  at 
Worcester,  one  at  Chicopee  and  one  at  Holyoke, 
the  first  two  under  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  the  last 
in  charge  of  the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  a  con 
vent  of  the  Sisters  being  at  each  place.  Right 
Rev.  Patrick  Thomas  O'Reilly  was  appointed 
first  Bishop  of  Springfield  on  June  28,  1870,  and, 
selecting  the  Church  of  St.  Michael  as  his  cathe 
dral,  he  was  consecrated  there  by  Archbishop, 


St.  Michael's  Cathedral,  Springfield,  Mass. 


DIOCESE  OF  PROVIDENCE. 


afterwards  Cardinal,  McCloskey  on  September 
28.  The  Diocese  has  gained  much  in  institutions 
and  in  its  organization.  The  priests  now  number 
one  hundred  and  fifty-nine,  fifty  ecclesiastical 
students,  one  hundred  and  seven  churches  and  nine 
visiting  stations,  twelve  convents,  twenty-three 
parochial  schools,  two  orphan  asylums  and  one 
hospital.  Many  of  the  old  churches  which  had 


been  erected  either  in  the  time  of  Bishop  Fenwick, 
or  even  in  that  of  Bishop  Bacon,  have  been  re 
built  or  renovated,  and  the  future  of  this  nourish 
ing  Diocese  is  most  encouraging.  Prudence  and 
zeal  have  characterized  the  labors  and  the  meas 
ures  of  both  Bishop  and  priests,  and  the  laity 
are  distinguished  for  their  liberality  to  the 
Church  and  to  works  of  charity  and  education. 


DIOCESE  OF  PROVIDENCE. 


THE  See  of  Providence  was  erected  in  1872 
and   contains  the  State  of  Rhode  Island,  with 


Cathedral  of  Saints  Peter  and  Paul,  Providence.  R.  I. 

Bristol,  Barnstable  and  part  of  Plymouth  coun 
ties,  Massachusetts,  together  with  Martha's  Vine 
yard,  Nantucket  and  adjacent  islands.  It  pos 
sessed  at  that  time  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  Sister? 
of  Charity  and  Brothers  of  the  Christian  Schools ; 
also  fifty  churches  and  chapels,  fifty-three  priests, 
forty  clerical  students,  five  female  academies  and 
one  male  academy,  nine  parochial  schools,  an 
orphan  asylum  and  a  Catholic  population  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand.  On  the  erec 
tion  of  the  new 


Hendricken  was  appointed  first  Bishop.  He  was 
consecrated  on  April  28,  1872.  On  his  assuming 
the  administration  Bishop  Hendricken  made  the 
Church  of  Saints  Peter  and  Paul,  where  he  was 
consecrated,  his  cathedral.  The  episcopal  city 
possessed  ten  churches.  The  Diocese  was  soon 
and  effectively  organized.  Five  new  churches 
were  soon  erected ;  the  debt  of  $16,000  was  paid; 


Right  Rev.  Thomas  F.  Hendricken,  First  Bishop  of  Providence. 

a  new  pro-cathedral,  costing  $30,000,  and  an  epis- 
Sea,  Right  Rev.  Thomas  F.     copal  residence,  costing  $40,000,  were  erected  and 


*  * 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  BOSTON. 


paid  for.  The  new  and  grand  cathedral  was  un 
dertaken,  but  the  collections  were  first  com 
menced  and  soon  amounted  to  $50,000  a  year,  for 
church  debts  were  firmly  discountenanced.  A 
lot,  costing  $36,000,  was  purchased  for  the  cathe 
dral,  and  the  splendid  structure,  costing  over 
$500,000,  was  completed  in  his  lifetime,  but  not 
in  time  for  him  to  dedicate  it  or  say  Mass  therein. 
The  Jesuits  came  to  the  Diocese  and  took  charge 
of  St.  Joseph's  Church.  The  Ladies  of  the 
Sacred  Heart,  the  Ursulines  and  the  Sisters  of 
Jesus  and  Mary  entered  the  Diocese  with  the 
Bishop's  encouragement  and  foiinded  houses  of 
their  communities.  Schools  and  institutions 
multiplied,  and  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  greatly  ex 
tended  their  work.  The  Little  Sisters  of  the 
Poor  came  and  opened  their  Home  for  the  Aged 
at  Pawtucket;  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross 


came  and  founded  convents  at  Fall  River  and 
New  Bedford,  and  the  Ladies  of  the  Sacred 
Heart  established  their  academy  at  Elmhurst,  a 
suburb  of  Providence.  The  death  of  Bishop 
Hendricken  occurred  on  June  n,  1886.  The 
Diocese  then  possessed  one  hundred  and  four 
priests,  seven  male  religious  and  two  hundred 
and  forty-five  female  religious,  seventy-one 
churches  and  chapels,  two  orphan  asylums  and 
nearly  ten  thousand  pupils  in  the  seventeen 
parochial  schools  of  the  Diocese.  Religion  made 
immense  strides  in  the  Diocese  of  Providence, 
and  great  improvement  occurred  in  ecclesiastical 
architecture.  The  Right  Rev.  Matthew  Har- 
kins  succeeded  Bishop  Hendricken,  and  the  ener 
getic  administration  of  the  new  Bishop  has 
greatly  stimulated  even  greater  progress  in  the 
work  of  the  Church. 


St.  Joseph's  Cathedral,  Manchester,  N.  H. 


DIOCESE  OF  MANCHESTER. 

IN  1884,  Pope  Leo  XIII.  detached  New  Hamp 
shire  from  the  See  of  Portland  and  erected  it  into 
a  new  Diocese  with  its  See  at  Manchester.  Right 
Rev.  Denis  M.  Bradley  was  appointed  its  first 
Bishop.  He  was  consecrated  on  June  1 1, 1884, and 
at  this  time  the  new  Diocese  possessed  forty-two 
priests  and  thirty-seven  churches  and  chapels. 
The  Catholic  population  was  sixty  thousand  and 
there  were  three  thousand  five  hundred  parochial 
school-children.  The  Sisters  of  Mercy  had 
founded  their  Convent  at  Manchester,  which  is 
now  their  Mother  House  with  one  hundred  and 
thirty-five  sisters.  The  other  religious  bodies  in 
the  Diocese  are  the  Christian  Brothers,  Sisters 
of  the  Holy  Name,  Gray  Nuns  and  the  Marianite 
Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross.  There  are  now,  in 
1890,  seventy  churches,  chapels  and  stations  and 
fifty-nine  priests,  one  high  school  for  boys,  five 
female  academies,  thirty-four  parish  schools,  with 
seven  thousand  pupils,  five  asylums,  hospitals 
and  homes  and  seventy-five  thousand  Catholics. 
There  are  Convents  of  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  at 
Manchester,  Concord,  Dover,  Keene,  Nashua 
and  Laconia;  of  the  Gray  Nuns  at  Manchester; 
of  the  Marianites  at  Nashua  and  Suncook ;  acad 
emies  at  Manchester  and  Nashua,  and  asylums 
or  hospitals  at  Manchester  and  Dover.  The  re 
ligious  communities,  convents,  select  and  paro 
chial  schools  of  this  young  Diocese  are  monu 
ments  of  zeal  and  faith. 


COPYRIGHTED  1889  HY  GEBBIE  &CO. 


ORAVURE.GEBBIE  &H066ON  CO. 


MOST  REV.  JOHN  JOSEPH  "WILLIAMS.BD. 


MOST  REV.  JOHN  JOSEPH  WILLIAMS,  D.D.. 


FOURTH   BISHOP  AND   FIRST  ARCHBISHOP  OF  BOSTON. 


OHN  JOSEPH  WILLIAMS  is  a  native 
of  Boston,  and  was  born  on  April  27, 
1822,  of  Irish  parentage.  The  first 
school  he  attended  was  the  primary 
school  of  the  city ;  but  when  Fathers 
Fitton,  Tyler,  and  Wiley  established  a 
Catholic  school,  young  Williams  was 
one  of  its  pupils.  In  1833,  being  thir 
teen  years  old,  he  became  a  student  at 
the  College  of  the  Sulpitians,  at  Mon 
treal,  and  in  1841  he  graduated  with 
distinction.  Having  realized  his  voca 
tion  to  the  priesthood,  he  entered  the 
Grand  Seminary  of  the  Sulpitians,  at  Paris, 
where  he  made  his  theological  and  higher 
studies,  and  was  ordained  at  Paris,  by  Arch 
bishop  Affre,  in  1845.  Returning  to  Boston,  he 
became  an  assistant  priest  at  the  Cathedral  of 
the  Holy  Cross,  and  director  of  the  Sunday- 
school,  in  November,  1845  >  an(^  ^n  I^55  ne 
became  rector  of  the  Cathedral,  where  he  served 
two  years  most  successfully.  He  was  then  made 
pastor  of  St.  James'  Church,  Boston,  and  was 
appointed  by  Bishop  Fitzpatrick  his  Vicar-Gen 
eral.  These  services  continued  nine  years,  when 
he  was  appointed  co-adjutor  to  Bishop  Fitz 
patrick,  and  his  successor  on  January  9,  1866, 
under  the  title  of  Bishop  of  Tripoli.  He  was 
consecrated  by  Archbishop  McCloskey,  of  New 
York,  on  March  n.  Owing  to  Bishop  Fitz- 
patrick's  infirm  health,  many  works  had  lan 
guished,  but  now,  on  Bishop  Williams'  accession, 
a  new  impetus  was  given  to  all  religious,  educa 
tional,  and  charitable  works  and  institutions. 


He  introduced  the  Gray  Nuns,  from  Montreal, 
in  1866;  he  next  brought  to  the  Diocese  the 
Sisters  of  the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis ;  both 
of  which  communities  have  proved  blessings  to 
the  Diocese.  Now  we  find  convent,  hospital,  and 
schools  at  Lowell ;  a  convent  at  Chicopee ;  and 
a  House  of  the  Good  Shepherd  was  founded  at 
Boston ;  and  Worcester  received  the  Sisters  of 
Mercy.  The  religious  orders  of  the  Diocese 
already  consisted  of  the  Jesuits,  Franciscans, 
Oblates,  and  Augustinians ;  Bishop  Williams 
added  the  priests  of  the  Congregation  of  Our 
Most  Holy  Redeemer.  The  Sulpitians,  who  had 
long  rendered  such  valuable  services  in  the  Dio 
cese  of  Baltimore,  were  also  introduced  by  him, 
as  he  had  long  desired  to  do,  and  they  were 
placed  in  charge  of  the  theological  seminary,  in 
a  commodious  structure,  which  he  had  been  for 
several  years  preparing  for  them.  Two  new 
Sees  were  erected,  in  1872,  at  Springfield  and 
Providence,  which  reduced  the  size  of  the  Dio 
cese  of  Boston.  In  1875,  on  February  12,  Boston 
became  a  Metropolitan  See,  with  the  Dioceses 
of  Burlington,  Hartford,  Portland,  Providence, 
and  Springfield  as  Suffragans,  and  Dr.  Williams, 
now  an  Archbishop,  received  the  Pallium  from 
the  hands  of  Archbishop  McCloskey.  During 
his  administration  fifty  parochial  schools,  with 
over  25,000  pupils,  an  increase  of  fifty  per  cent, 
in  the  churches,  and  over  a  hundred  per  cent,  of 
priests,  thirty-two  convents,  ten  asylums,  and 
similar  progress  in  other  works,  are  some  of  the 
fruits  of  his  labor  and  zeal.  He  celebrated  the 
Pontifical  Mass  of  the  Centenary  of  1889. 


(33) 


RIGHT   REV.  LOUIS    DE    GOESBRIAND,  D.  D. 


FIRST   BISHOP  OF   BURLINGTON. 


ISHOP    LOUIS    DE 
GOESBRIAND    was 

born  at  St.  Urbain, 
Diocese  of  Quimper, 
Brittany,  France.  His 
earliest  surroundings 
were  all  Catholic,  in 
his  family  and  in  the 
community.  These 
influences  led  him  to  the  altar,  and  after  making 
his  classical  studies  at  Quimper  and  Pont  Croix- 
Finistier,  and  his  theological  studies  at  the 
Seminaries  of  Quimper  and  St.  Sulpice,  Paris,  he 
was  at  the  latter  place  ordained  priest,  July  13, 
1840,  by  Dr.  Rosati,  Bishop  of  St.  Louis.  He 
sought  the  American  mission,  entered  the  Diocese 
of  Cincinnati,  and  labored  in  its  hardest  fields 
as  pastor  of  St.  Louis  Church,  near  Canton  ;  at 
St.  Genevieve's  in  Holmes  county,  and  at  Toledo. 
He  was  indefatigable.  He  was  a  co-laborer  with 
the  saintly  and  laborious  Father  Rappe,  who, 
when  he  became  first  Bishop  of  the  new  Diocese 
of  Cleveland,  appointed  him  his  Vicar-General 
and  pastor  of  the  Cathedral  of  Cleveland. 

On  the  erection  of  the  new  See  of  Burlington, 
Vermont,  in  1853,  Father  de  Goesbriand  was  ap 
pointed  its  Bishop,  and  was  consecrated  on  Octo 
ber  30.  Taking  possession  of  his  See  on  No 
vember  6,  he  found  the  task  of  cultivating  a  New 


England  field  very  difficult,  with  few  priests, 
sparse  churches  and  much  prejudice.  As  an  old 
missionary  he  went  to  work  zealously.  Obtaining 
priests  from  his  native  country,  he  and  they 
worked  untiringly.  He  brought  to  his  aid  the 
Sisters  of  Providence,  Sisters  of  Mercy,  Sisters 
of  St.  Joseph,  Sisters  of  the  Congregation,  Sis 
ters  of  the  Holy  Cross,  Sisters  of  the  Presenta 
tion  ;  and  established  parochial  schools,  a  College 
of  St.  Joseph,  an  orphan  asylum  and  built  the 
Cathedral  of  the  Immaculate  Conception.  When 
he  came  there  the  Diocese  had  neither  school  nor 
institution.  The  Catholic  population  increased 
rapidly  and  was  organized  into  parishes.  At  the 
close  of  1889  the  Diocese  contained  fifty  priests, 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  religious,  seventy- 
six  churches,  fifteen  convents,  besides  college, 
orphan  asylum,  female  academies  and  a  Catholic 
population  of  forty  thousand. 

It  was  his  happiness,  when  Bishop  Rappe 
resigned  his  See,  to  receive  his  old  friend  and 
afford  him  congenial  work  and  a  home.  Bishop 
de  Goesbriand  has  published  an  interesting 
Memoir  giving  the  outlines  of  the  History  of 
Catholicity  in  Vermont.  The  present  flourishing 
condition  of  the  Diocese  and  its  statistics  show 
a  great  progress.  The  Bishop  still  labors  with 
youthful  vigor  and  energy.  The  works  of  the 
Diocese  are  constantly  increasing. 


134) 


RIGHT  REV.  LAWRENCE  S.  McMAHON,  D.D., 


FIFTH   BISHOP   OF  HARTFORD. 


NATIVE  of  New  Brunswick,  in 
the  Dominion  of  Canada,  Law 
rence  S.  McMahon  was  born 
in  1835  and  brought  to  the 
United  States  in  1839,  and  his 
parents  settled  in  Boston, 
where  he  attended  the  public 
schools.  He  was  afterwards 
a  student  of  the  College  of  the  Holy 
Cross  at  Worcester,  and  continued  there 
until  it  was  suspended  by  the  fire  that 
destroyed  the  building.  He  then  con 
tinued  his  studies  under  the  Sulpitians  at  Mon 
treal,  and  still  later  at  Baltimore.  He  com 
menced  his  theological  studies  at  the  College  of 
Aix  in  France,  completed  them  at  the  Propa 
ganda  in  Rome  and  was  ordained  by  the  Car 
dinal  Vicar  of  the  Propaganda  in  1860.  He 
then  returned  to  America  and  was  affiliated  to 
the  Diocese  of  Boston.  His  first  ecclesiastical 
service  was  as  an  assistant  at  the  Cathedral  of 
the  Holy  Cross  in  Boston.  But  his  missionary 
services  were  interrupted  by  his  departure  for 
the  seat  of  the  civil  war,  and  he  accepted  the 
position  of  chaplain  to  the  Twenty-eighth  Mas 
sachusetts  regiment.  Returning  to  Massachu 
setts  when  the  war  was  over,  he  was  appointed 
pastor  of  the  new  mission  at  Bridgewater,  and 
afterwards,  on  July  i,  1865,  he  was  made  pastor 


at  New  Bedford,  where  he  personally  collected 
the  means  and  erected  the  fine  Gothic  Church  of 
St.  Lawrence.  He  adopted  the  wise  and  com 
mendable  course  of  incurring  no  debts,  but 
built  his  church  as  his  means  allowed.  He  also 
founded  a  fine  hospital  at  New  Bedford  for  the 
care  of  the  sick  and  placed  it  in  charge  of  the 
Sisters  of  Mercy.  In  1872,  when  Bishop  Hend- 
ricken  took  charge  of  the  new  See  of  Providence, 
he  appointed  Rev.  Mr.  McMahon  his  Vicar-Gen 
eral,  and  his  services  to  the  Church  were  recog 
nized  in  1873  by  his  reception  of  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Divinity  from  Rome.  He  served  in 
New  Bedford  fourteen  years  most  successfully. 
In  1879  he  was  chosen  to  fill  the  vacant  See  of 
Hartford  and  was  consecrated  by  Archbishop 
Williams  on  August  10,  1879.  He  finished  the 
fine  Cathedral  of  Hartford.  He  increased  its 
priests,  churches,  schools  and  institutions  by  the 
aid  of  a  zealous  clergy  and  generous  laity.  His 
work  is  still  moving  onward.  The  Diocese  is  in 
a  flourishing  condition,  and  two  of  its  dis 
tinguishing  features  are  the  Diocesan  students 
at  Rome  and  its  ecclesiastical  students  at  home. 
The  Diocese  can  also  point  to  works  of  charity, 
such  as  hospitals,  asylums,  parochial  schools  and 
institutions  of  a  higher  education  as  marking  its 
rapid  development  and  permanent  good  works. 
Bishop  McHahon  is  adverse  to  church  debts. 


** 


(35) 


RIGHT  REV.  JAMES  AUGUSTINE  HEALY,  D.  D., 


SECOND  BISHOP  OF  PORTLAND,   MAINE. 


HEALY  be 
longs  to  a  family 
which  has  given 
more  than  one 
of  its  members 
to  the  Church, 
and  they  have 
risen  to  em 
inence.  He 
was  born  near 
Macon,  Georgia, 
April  6,  1830.  His  first  studies  were  made 
under  the  Quakers  at  Flushing,  Long  Island, 
and  in  New  Jersey.  But  his  chief  education  was 
obtained  in  the  Jesuit  College  of  the  Holy  Cross, 
at  Worcester,  Massachusetts,  where  he  graduated 
with  distinction  and  honor  in  1849.  He  em 
braced  the  sacerdotal  calling ;  he  made  his  theo 
logical  studies  as  a  candidate  from  the  Diocese 
of  Boston,  under  the  Sulpitians  at  Montreal  and 
at  Paris,  and  was  ordained,  June  10,  1854.  His 
first  service  was  as  an  assistant  at  the  Cathedral 
of  the  Holy  Cross  at  Boston,  under  Bishop  Fitz- 
patrick,  and  he  was  the  Bishop's  secretary  and 
chancellor.  In  1866  he  was  appointed  pastor 
of  St.  James'  Church,  Boston,  and  served  there 
until  1875,  and  during  those  nine  years  he  won 
the  respect  and  confidence  of  prelates  and  priests 
and  the  love  and  gratitude  of  the  laity. 

He  was  appointed  to  succeed  Bishop  Bacon, 
as  Bishop  of  Portland,  in  1875,  and  was  conse 
crated  on  the  ad  of  June,  of  that  year.  At  that 
time  the  Diocese,  which  then  included  the  States 
of  Maine  and  New  Hampshire,  possessed  sixty- 


one  churches,  fifty-four  priests,  two  asylums,  four 
female  academies  and  twenty  parochial  schools. 
The  Catholic  population  was  vastly  and  rapidly 
increased  by  the  influx  of  Irish  and  Canadian 
immigrants,  and  the  Bishop's  resources  and  labors 
were  severely  taxed  to  provide  for  their  religious 
wants.  Canadian  priests  accompanied  their  people, 
but  priests  had  to  be  provided  for  the  Irish.  He 
also  secured  the  services  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity, 
the  Sisters  of  the  Congregation  of  Notre  Dame, 
Sisters  of  the  Holy  Names  of  Jesus  and  Mary, 
the  Marianite  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross,  and  the 
Sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd.  Now  with  only  the 
State  of  Maine  within  its  boundaries  the  Diocese 
under  his  energetic  administration  possesses  one 
hundred  and  ten  churches,  stations  and  chapels, 
sixty-five  priests,  besides  the  Little  Brothers  of 
Mary,  Sisters  of  Mercy,  Sisters  of  Charity, 
Sisters  of  the  Congregation  of  Notre  Dame,  Sis 
ters  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  and  Ursuline  Nuns, 
fifteen  parochial  schools,  three  Indian  schools, 
two  orphan  asylums,  and  a  Catholic  popu 
lation  of  nearly  seventy-five  thousand.  The 
Catholic  Canadians  constitute  a  striking  feature 
in  the  solicitude  and  administration  of  Bishop 
Healy,  and  for  these  especially  has  been  pro 
vided  the  Canadian  Orphanage  of  Our  Lady  at 
Lourdes  at  Lewiston.  The  Indians  of  Maine 
form  also  a  picturesque  and  edifying  part  of  the 
Church  of  Portland.  They  are  remnants  of  the 
Catholic  Indian  tribes  of  olden  times,  and  for 
them  have  been  specially  provided  the  Indian 
schools  at  Old  Town,  Pleasant  Point  and  Louis 
Island. 


(36) 


RIGHT  REV.   MATTHEW  J.   HARKINS.  D.D 


SECOND   BISHOP  OF   PROVIDENCE. 


NE  of  the  most 
recent  ap 
pointees  to 
the  episco 
pal  office, 
B  i  s  h  o  p 
Harkins, 
has  proved 
one  of  the 
most  ener 
getic,  enterprising  and  successful  during  the 
first  two  years  of  his  administration.  He  was 
born  at  Boston,  of  Irish  parents,  on  November 
17,  1845,  and  his  parents  still  reside  in  the  par 
ish  and  worship  in  the  parish  church  from 
which  he  was  appointed  Bishop.  He  attended 
the  Brimmer  and  Quincy  schools  of  Boston, 
afterwards  the  Latin  school  of  the  city,  and 
graduated  in  1862,  taking  the  Franklin  medal, 
a  distinguished  honor  among  the  pupils  of  Bos 
ton.  He  then  spent  a  year  for  completing  his 
classical  studies  at  the  College  of  the  Holy 
Cross  at  Worcester.  Bishop  Fitzpatrick,  who 
had  watched  the  career  and  studied  the  character 
of  young  Harkins,  advised  him  that  he  had  a 
vocation  for  the  holy  priesthood,  and  sent  him  first 
to  France  to  make  his  philosophy  and  commence 
his  theology  in  the  English  College  of  Douay.  He 
was  afterwards  entered  at  the  Seminary  of  St. 
Sulpice  at  Paris.  The  advantages  of  such  a 
training  are  remarkably  manifested  in  his  fine 
education  and  in  a  character  so  strictly  devout, 
ecclesiastical  and  edifying.  In  1869  he  was  or 
dained  at  Paris,  and  then  went  to  Rome  and 
continued  his  studies  there  until  1870,  when  he 


returned  to  the  Boston  Diocese,  and  was  ap 
pointed  second  assistant  at  the  Church  of  the 
Immaculate  Conception  at  Salem.  After  six 
years  of  good  and  productive  service  at  Salem, 
he  was  in  1876  appointed  pastor  of  St.  Malachi's 
Church  at  Arlington,  and  attended  to  the  spirit 
ual  needs  of  the  Catholics  at  Lexington  and  Bel- 
mont,  which  were  parts  of  his  parish.  In  April, 
1884,  he  was  promoted  to  the  pastorate  of  the 
large  and  important  Church  of  St.  James,  in  the 
city  of  Boston.  It  was  from  St.  James'  that 
Archbishop  Williams  and  Bishop  Healy  were 
appointed  to  bishoprics.  In  1887  Father  Har 
kins  was  appointed  Bishop  of  Providence  to  suc 
ceed  Bishop  Hendricken.  He  was  consecrated 
at  the  Cathedral  of  Saints  Peter  and  Paul,  in  the 
city  of  Providence,  on  April  14,  1887,  by  Arch 
bishop  Williams,  assisted  by  Bishop  O'Reilly, 
of  Springfield,  and  Bishop  McMahon,  of  Hart 
ford.  Governor-elect  Davis,  of  Rhode  Island, 
the  State  and  city  officials  and  many  prominent 
citizens  of  the  State  of  all  denominations  were 
present  at  the  consecration,  which  was  performed 
with  great  solemnity  and  grandeur,  amid  great 
rejoicing  of  the  priests  and  people.  Bishop  Har 
kins  has  made  an  excellent  beginning — much 
more,  in  fact,  than  a  beginning.  His  own  ex 
ample  will  be  a  guide  to  his  clergy.  He  will 
build  up  a  prosperous  Diocese.  He  sets  great 
value  on  the  elevation  of  the  priestly  character. 
He  is  opposed  to  the  accumulation  of  wealth  by 
the  clergy,  as  unbecoming  in  men  devoted  to 
God's  service.  He  is  just  to  his  clergy  and  to 
the  laity,  mild  and  gentle  to  all,  and  only  severe 
where  mildness  fails. 


137) 


RIGHT  REV.  DENIS  M.  BRADLEY,  D.  D. 


FIRST  BISHOP  OF  MANCHESTER,    NEW    HAMPSHIRE. 


the  first  alumnus 
of  the  Provincial 
Seminary  of  St. 
Joseph  at  Troy,  N. 
Y.,  elevated  to  the 
Episcopal  office,  the 
alumni  of  that  insti 
tution  hailed  his  ap 
pointment  with  joy, 
and  presented  him 
with  a  substantial 
complimentary  testimonial. 
Though  taking  a  new  Diocese,  it  was 
partly  an  old  and  well-equipped  one, 
in  which  religion  had  been  well  advanced  and  zeal 
ously  sustained,  works  of  charity  founded,  and 
institutions  of  education  established.  Bishop 
Bradley  was  born  in  Ireland,  on  February  25, 
1846.  He  was  one  of  five  children  brought  from 
Ireland  by  their  mother;  they  settled  at  Man 
chester,  in  1854,  when  Denis  was  eight  years 
old.  He  made  his  first  studies  at  a  Catholic  school 
of  Manchester,  and  his  classical  course  at  the 
College  of  the  Holy  Cross,  at  Worcester,  Massa 
chusetts.  Aspiring  to  the  priesthood  he  was  sent 
to  St.  Joseph's  Seminary  at  Troy,  as  a  student 
from  the  Diocese  of  Portland,  made  his  theology 
with  credit  and  was  ordained  at  the  Seminary  by 
Bishop  McQuaid,  on  June  3,  1871.  He  was 
appointed  by  Bishop  Bacon,  of  Portland,  an  as 
sistant  priest  at  the  Portland  Cathedral,  and 
served  there  with  success  under  Bishops  Bacon 
and  Healy.  In  1878  he  was  appointed  Rector 
of  the  Cathedral,  and  on  June  16,  1880,  he  was 
appointed  pastor  of  St.  Joseph's  Church  at 


Manchester.  His  missionary  services  and  his 
familiarity  with  ecclesiastical  affairs  secured  for 
him  from  the  Bishops  of  the  Province  of  Boston 
the  nomination  for  the  new  See  of  Manchester, 
comprising  the  State  of  New  Hampshire,  and 
he  was  consecrated  at  St.  Joseph's  Church, 
now  his  Cathedral,  on  June  10,  1884.  He  was 
immediately  installed  and  went  to  work  with  his 
characteristic  energy.  The  new  Diocese  had 
forty-two  priests  and  thirty-seven  churches  and 
chapels,  and  now  under  his  able  and  zealous 
administration  the  Diocese  possesses  seventy 
churches,  stations  and  chapels,  fifty-six  priests  on 
the  mission,  and  twenty  seminarians,  six  Chris 
tian  Brothers,  one  hundred  and  thirty-five 
Sisters  of  Mercy,  seventeen  Sisters  of  Jesus  and 
Mary,  twenty-one  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross, 
nineteen  Gray  Nuns,  fifteen  Convents,  thirty- 
four  Parochial  schools,  three  Orphan  asylums, 
besides  Hospital  and  Home  for  the  Aged,  and  a 
Catholic  population  of  nearly  seventy-five 
thousand.  These  results  speak  eloquently  for  a 
Diocese,  when,  in  1853,  the  State  of  New  Hamp 
shire  possessed  only  three  churches — one  erected 
at  Cleremont  in  1823,  by  the  Rev.  Virgil 
Horace  Barber,  one  at  Dover,  erected  in  1833, 
and  one  at  Manchester,  erected  by  Rev.  John  B. 
Daly,  the  Franciscan.  So  rich  a  soil  did  New 
Hampshire  possess  for  the  Catholic  faith,  not 
withstanding  her  bigotry,  that  in  ten  years  she 
had  seven  churches,  and  in  eighteen  years  the 
churches  numbered  sixteen,  with  eighteen  priests 
attending  them,  and  numerous  stations.  Man 
chester  is  -x  the  bee-hive  of  religion  for  the  State, 
as  it  is  a  flourishing  manufacturing  centre. 


RIGHT  REV.   PATRICK  THOMAS  O'REILLY,  D.  D, 

FIRST   BISHOP  OF  SPRINGFIELD,    MASSACHUSETTS. 


I' HE  first  Bishop  of  a  new  Dio 
cese,  Bishop  O'Reilly  has  had 
the  task  of  organization  to 
undertake,  energetically  push 
forward  and  accomplish,  be 
sides  his  regular  visitations 
and  other  episcopal  work.  He  was 
born  in  Cavau,  Ireland,  on  Decem 
ber  24,  1833,  and  is  descended  from 
one  of  the  oldest  and  most  famous 
of  the  ancient  clans  of  Ireland. 
Coming  to  this  country  when  quite  young,  he 
found  in  an  uncle  at  Boston,  a  citizen  who  had 
accumulated  wealth  as  a  chemist,  a  good  friend, 
who  gave  him  a  solid  education.  He  soon  de 
veloped  a  vocation  to  the  priesthood,  was  sent  to 
St.  Charles'  College,  Maryland,  and  he  com 
pleted  his  theological  course  at  St.  Mary's  Sem 
inary,  Baltimore.  He  was  ordained  in  the 
priesthood  at  the  Cathedral  of  the  Holy  Cross, 
Boston,  in  1857,  by  Bishop  Bacon,  who  relieved 
Bishop  Fitzpatrick  of  episcopal  work  in  his  de 
clining  health.  His  first  mission  was  as  assistant 
at  the  Church  of  St.  John  the  Baptist  at  Worces 
ter  under  Father  Boyce,  where  he  spent  five 
years  of  good  service.  He  was  designated  to 
form  the  new  parish  of  St.  Joseph  at  Boston  in 
1862,  a  task  which  he  well  performed.  He  was 
pastor  of  the  new  church  until  1864,  when  he 
was  sent  to  St.  John  the  Baptist's  at  Worcester 
to  succeed  his  old  friend  and  superior,  Father 
Boyce.  His  labors  here  were  faithful  and  suc 
cessful,  as  he  followed  the  zealous  example  of 


the  old  and  tried  pastors  of  this  flourishing  and 
fruitful  field  of  the  Lord's  vineyard. 

In  June,  1870,  the  new  Diocese  of  Springfield 
was  carved  out  of  that  of  Boston.  It  contained 
the  counties  of  Worcester,  Berkshire,  Franklin, 
Hampden  and  Hampshire,  and  Father  O'Reilly 
was  appointed  its  first  Bishop.  He  was  conse 
crated  at  St.  Michael's  Church,  Springfield, 
which  he  selected  for  his  cathedral,  on  Septem 
ber  25,  1870,  by  Archbishop  McCloskey,  of  New 
York.  The  new  Diocese  then  contained  fifty- 
four  churches,  forty  priests,  besides  the  Jesuit 
Fathers  at  Worcester  College  of  the  Holy  Cross. 
He  introduced  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  of  St. 
Anne  and  of  Charity,  the  Gray  Nuns  from  Mon 
treal,  Sisters  of  the  Presentation,  and  the  Chris 
tian  Brothers.  Under  his  prudent  administration 
the  Diocese  now  contains  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
nine  priests,  one  hundred  and  sixteen  churches 
and  stations,  twelve  convents,  and  a  Catholic 
population  of  one  hundred  and  seventy  thousand. 

The  religious  communities  and  parochial 
schools  constitute  an  interesting  feature  in  the 
Diocese  and  in  the  zealous  labors  of  Bishop 
O'Reilly.  While  Worcester  College  has  exerted 
a  powerful  influence  in  the  direction  of  higher 
education,  the  parochial  schools  have  done  a 
great  and  powerful  good  in  attracting  Catholic 
children  from  the  public  schools  to  the  religious 
schools  of'their  own  faith.  Throughout  all  New 
England  the  Catholic  parochial  schools  present 
the  most  effective  barrier  against  the  inroads  of 
infidelity  and  skepticism. 


(39) 


Cathedral  of  the  Holy  Name,  Chicago,  111. 

CHAPTER  VI. 
PROVINCE  OF  CHICAGO. 

History  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Chicago  and  of  the  Suffragan  Dioceses  of  Alton,  Belleville  and  Peoria. 


DIOCESE  OF  CHICAGO. 


CCORDING  to  an  ancient  tradi 
tion  a  Catholic  priest  was  the 
first  European  whose  foot  tra 
versed  the  soil  of  Illinois,  and 
in  1667  many  of  the  Illinois 
warriors  had  met  Father  Al- 
louez.  The  Diocese  of  Chicago 
was  erected  by  Papal  Bulls  of 
September  30,  1843,  was  suffragan  to  the 
Archdiocese  of  Baltimore,  and  received  for 
its  first  Bishop  the  Rev.  William  Quarter, 
pastor  of  St.  Mary's  Church  at  New  York. 
The  Diocese  embraced  the  State  of  Illinois.  Chi 
cago  possessed  only  one  church,  St.  Mary's,  which 
was  not  finished  or  dedicated,  and  this  became  the 
cathedral.  The  first  Bishop  was  consecrated  at 
St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  New  York,  on  March  10, 
1844,  by  Archbishop  Hughes.  The  whole  north  - 
(40) 


ern  part  of  the  Diocese  having  been  in  the  Dio 
cese  of  Vincennes,  the  priests  of  that  section  were 
recalled  and  Chicago  Diocese  had  to  be  provided 
with  priests.  This  was  done  so  well  by  Bishop 
Quarter  that  before  his  death  he  had  given  the 
Diocese  fifty  priests  and  eight  ecclesiastical  stu 
dents,  sixty  churches  with  eight  building,  an  ec 
clesiastical  seminary,  the  University  of  St.  Mary's 
of  the  Lake,  and  the  Catholic  population  was 
fifty  thousand.  He  expired  on  April  10,  1848 ;  his 
last  words  were,  "Lord,  have  mercy  on  my  poor 
soul!"  Archbishop  Eccleston,  of  Baltimore,  re 
ceived  Papal  Bulls  of  December  i,  1848,  appoint 
ing  a  distinguished  Jesuit  missionary,  Rev.  James 
Oliver  Van  de  Velde,  second  Bishop  of  Chicago, 
and  he  was  consecrated  at  St.  Louis  by  Arch 
bishop  P.  R.  Kenrick  in  the  Jesuits'  Church,  on 
February  n,  1849.  ^or  three  years  and  a  half 


DIOCESE  OF  CHICAGO. 


41 


religion  progressed  wonderfully  under  the  un 
tiring  labors  of  Bishop  Van  de  Velde,  but  owing 
to  bad  health  he  was  transferred  to  Natchez,  July 
29,  1853.  The  Diocese  of  Quincy  was  now 
erected,  and  Bishop  Van  de  Velde,  at  the  request 
of  the  Archbishop  of  St.  Louis,  became  adminis 
trator  of  the  Dioceses  of  Chicago  and  Quincy 
until  November,  when  he  went  to  the  South. 
The  labors  of  Bishop  Van  de  Velde  in  the  Dio 
cese  of  Chicago  were  those  of  an  apostolic  mis- 
sionary.  The  Diocese  of  Chicago  now  passed 
under  the  rule  of  Right  Rev.  Anthony  O'Regan, 
who  had  been  President  of  the  St.  Louis  Theo 
logical  Seminary  at  Carondelet,  and  who  was 
consecrated  at  St.  Louis  by  Archbishop  Kenrick 
on  July  25, 1854.  The  episcopal  residence,  which 
was  called  at  Chicago  a  "  shanty,"  such  was  its 
poverty,  was  replaced  by  one  of  the  finest  houses 
in  the  city,  which  was  completed  in  1856,  and 
destroyed  in  the  great  fire  of  1871.  The  Jesuit 
Fathers  entered  the  Diocese,  and  the  Bishop  him 
self  requested  that  the  distinguished  Father 
Damen  should  be  one  of  them.  Land  sites  for 
churches  and  other  religious  purposes  were  wisely 
acquired.  The  Redemptorists  were  also  intro 
duced  during  this  administration.  The  revolt  of 
Chiniquy,  the  disobedient  priest  from  Canada, 
disturbed  the  peace  of  Bishop  O' Regan's  ad 
ministration.  In  1856  Bishop  O'Regan  went 
to  Rome,  and,  having  tendered  his  resignation, 
it  was  accepted  in  1858.  He  died  in  London, 
November  13,  1866,  and  was  succeeded  by 
Right  Rev.  James  Duggan,  who  was  then  Co 
adjutor  Bishop  of  St.  Louis,  and  who  was  first 
appointed  administrator  of  Chicago.  After  be 
coming  Bishop  of  Chicago  and  commencing 
his  administration  under  bright  prospects,  the 
health  of  Bishop  Duggan  began  to  fail,  both 
mentally  and  physically.  His  actions  gave  rise  to 
charges  from  some  of  the  clergy  against  him 
while  he  was  himself  in  Rome,  and  these  were 
referred  to  Archbishop  Kenrick  to  investigate; 
the  charges  were  dismissed  by  him,  the  accusers, 
with  the  exception  of  one  of  them,  who  returned, 
being  at  the  time  of  the  investigation  absent  on 
their  summer  vacation,  and  did  not  appear  in 
time.  Bishop  Duggan,  who  had  returned  from 
Rome,  and  removed  or  changed  some  of  the 


priests  concerned  in  the  charges,  afterwards  mani 
fested  a  great  and  hopeless  development  of  his 
malady,  which  was  mental ;  and  in  1869  he  was 
removed  to  an  asylum,  where  he  still  resides. 
The  Diocese  next  had  for  its  ruler  the  Right 
Rev.  Thomas  Foley,  from  Baltimore,  who  was 
appointed  Bishop  of  Pergamus  in  partibus,  Co 
adjutor  Bishop  and  administrator,  with  the  right 
of  succession,  and  was  consecrated  at  the  Balti 
more  Cathedral  by  Bishop  McCloskey,  of  Louis 
ville,  in  February,  1870.  He  saluted  his  new 
flock  with  tidings  of  peace ;  he  recalled  Dr.  Mc- 
Mullen  to  Chicago,  and  repaired  as  far  as  he  could 
the  mistakes  of  Bishop  Duggan.  New  churches 
and  institutions  sprang  up  on  all  sides.  So  great 
was  the  growth  of  the  church  that,  in  1877,  the 
Diocese  of  Peoria  was  taken  off,  Chicago  retain 
ing  the  northern  and  Peoria  the  southern  coun 
ties.  .  In  1871  occurred  the  great  fire  of  Chicago, 
destroying  cathedral,  churches,  pastoral  resi 
dences,  schools,  hospitals  and  asylums  ;  the  loss 
to  the  church  was  estimated  at  $5,000,000.  Bishop 
Foley,  with  his  priests  and  people,  worked  heroic 
ally  until  the  restoration  was  nearly  complete. 
Bishop  Foley  died  in  his  prime  on  February  19, 
1879.  The  Diocese  of  Chicago  was  made  a 
metropolitan  See  in  1880,  with  the  Dioceses  of 
Alton  and  Peoria  as  suffragans.  Most  Rev. 
Patrick  A.  Feehan  was  appointed  its  first  Arch 
bishop. 

The  Archdiocese  has  another  Suffragan  See 
in  the  new  Diocese  of  Belleville.  Among  the 
institutions  of  which  the  Archdiocese  can  justly 
boast  are  St.  Ignatius'  College  at  Chicago,  which 
is  conducted  by  the  Jesuit  Fathers,  and  has  a 
full  faculty  and  nearly  two  hundred  pupils  ;  and 
its  branch,  the  Collegiate  Institute;  St.  Viateur's 
College  at  Bourbonnais  Grove,  which  is  con 
ducted  by  the  Fathers  of  the  Congregation  of  St. 
Viateur,  which  has  also  a  full  faculty,  two  hundred 
students  in  the  college  and  sixty  day  scholars ; 
and  the  Bohemian  College  for  Ecclesiastical 
Students,  which  is  conducted  by  the  Benedictine 
Fathers,  and  now  has  twenty-two  ecclesiastical 
students.  The  Alexian  Hospital  for  men,  con 
ducted  by  the  Alexian  Brothers  at  Chicago,  is 
also  a  noble  institution  ;  it  is  the  Mother  House 
of  this  Society  for  North  America. 


PROVINCE   OF  CHICAGO. 


St.  Peter's  Cathedral,  Belleville,  111. 


DIOCESE  OF  BELLEVILLE. 

THE  new  Diocese  of  Belleville,  in  the  State  of 
Illinois,  was  erected  by  Pope  Leo  XIII.  by  Papal 
Bulls  of  January  7,  1887,  and  it  embraces  that 
part  of  the  State  which  lies  south  of  the  northern 
limits  of  the  counties  of  St.  Clair,  Clinton,  Marion, 
Clay,  Richland  and  Lawrence.  It  received  for  its 
first  Bishop  the  Right  Rev.  John  Janssen,  who  was 
consecrated  on  April  25,  1888.  The  Diocese  was 
promptly  and  efficiently  organized,  and  com 
mences  with  a  good  number  of  institutions  of  re 
ligion,  education  and  charity.  It  has  the  Sisters 
of  Notre  Dame,  Hospital  Sisters  of  St.  Francis, 
Sisters  of  the  Precious  Blood,  of  Loretto,  of  the 
Holy  Cross,  Handmaids  of  Christ,  Ursulines, 
Dominican  Sisters  and  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  ; 
also,  Benedictine  and  Franciscan  Fathers.  There 
are  nearly  seventy  priests,  of  whom  four  are  regu 
lars  and  the  remainder  are  secular  priests,  nine 
students,  nearly  ninety  churches  and  chapels, 
fifty-five  parochial  schools,  academies,  asylums, 
three  hospitals  and  a  Catholic  population  of 
over  fifty  thousand.  There  are  five  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  ten  children  attending  paro 
chial  schools. 


DIOCESE  OF  PEORIA. 


IN  1877  the  Holy  See  established  the  Diocese 
of  Peoria,  comprising  the  counties  of  Illinois 
south  of  Whiteside,  Lee,  De  Kalb,  Grundy  and 
Kansas,  and  north  of  Adams,  Brown,  Cass,  Me- 
nard,  Sangamon,  Moultrie,  Douglas  and  Edgar 
counties.  Right  Rev.  John  Lancaster  Spalding  is 
its  first  Bishop,  and  he  was  consecrated  on  May  i , 
1877.  The  Diocese  possesses  the  Capuchins  and 
Franciscans,  and  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  Third 
Order  of  St.  Dominic,  Ursulines,  Sisters  of 
Providence,  of  Charity,  Benedictine  Sisters,  Sis 
ters  of  Mercy,  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame  and  of  St. 
Francis.  Its  monasteries  and  convents  form  a 
feature  of  its  organization,  and  the  Diocese  now 
possesses  one  hundred  and  fifteen  priests,  of 
whom  thirteen  are  regulars,  one  hundred  and 
sixty-four  churches,  twelve  clerical  students,  six 
teen  religious  institutions,  nine  academies,  forty- 
three  parochial  schools,  an  asylum,  five  hospitals 
and  seven  thousand  pupils  in  the  parochial 
schools.  Its  Catholic  population  is  one  hundred 
thousand,  and  new  churches  are  building. 


St.  Mary's  Cathedral  Church,  Peoria,  111. 


DIOCESE  OF  ALTON. 


43 


DIOCESE  OF  ALTON. 


On  January  9,  1857,  the  new  Diocese  of  Alton 
was  erected,  and  that  of  Quincy  merged  in  it,  so 
that  the  Alton  Diocese  possessed  the  counties 
lying  south  of  the  northern  limits  of  Adarns, 
Brown,  Cass,  Menard,  Sangamon,  Moultrie, 
Douglas  and  Edgar,  and  north  of  the  southern 
limits  of  Madison,  Bond,  Fayette,  Effingham, 
Jasper  and  Crawford.  Right  Rev..  Henry 
Damien  Juncker  was  appointed  its  first  Bishop, 
who  was  consecrated  on  April  26,  1857,  by  Arch 
bishop  Purcell  at  St.  Peter's  Cathedral,  Cincin 
nati.  The  Diocese  then  possessed  only  eighteen 
priests ;  a  visit  was  made  by  the  Bishop  to 
Europe  for  aid  and  he  ordained  at  home  in  July, 
1858,  Rev.  Fathers  Brennon,  Kallop,  Petit  and 
Carroll,  and  in  a  little  over  one  year  he  held  four 
ordinations ;  in  the  same  time  eight  new  churches 
were  erected,  and  in  the  second  year  the  fine 
Cathedral  of  Saints  Peter  and  Paul  was  finished 
and  consecrated  by  Archbishop  Kenrick,  of  St. 
Louis  on  April  19,  1859.  The  zeal  of  the  Bishop 
was  well  seconded  by  the  clergy  and  the  people, 
and  under  the  influence  of  Western  energy  new 
churches  and  institutions  sprang  up  in  every 
direction.  Church-building  became  the  great 
work  of  the  day.  In  the  short  period  of  ten  years 
the  number  of  churches  in  the  Diocese  increased 
from  fifty-eight  in  1859  to  one  hundred  and 
twenty-three  in  1869 ;  the  number  of  priests  in 
creased  from  twenty-eight  to  one  hundred ;  clerical 
students  from  six  to  twenty-five;  female  academies 
from  two  to  six ;  the  Catholic  population  from 
fifty  thousand  to  eighty-five  thousand.  In  the 
latter  year  there  were  also  two  male  colleges, 


two  hospitals  and  an  asylum.  Bishop  Juncker 
died  at  Alton  on  October  20,  1868,  and  was  suc 
ceeded  by  the  Right  Rev.  Peter  Joseph  Baltes, 
who  was  consecrated  on  January  23,  1870,  at  St. 
Peter's  Church,  Belleville,  by  Right  Rev.  Bishop 
Luers,  having  previously  served  as  administrator 
from  the  death  of  Bishop  Juncker.  He  was  the 
first  Bishop  consecrated  in  the  State  of  Illinois, 
though  the  church  had  a  history  in  that  State 
of  nearly  two  hundred  years.  The  ecclesiastical 
legislation  was  greatly  improved,  the  Gregorian 
chant  was  encouraged  and  discipline  enforced  by 
precept  and  example.  The  Benedictine  Fathers 
were  introduced,  also  the  Franciscans,  and  con 
vents  sprang  up  in  many  places.  The  Eccle 
siastical  College  of  the  Sacred  Heart  was  founded 
at  Rome  and  placed  in  charge  of  secular  priests. 
The  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross,  the  Sisters  of  the 
Precious  Blood,  the  Sisters  of  St.  Dominic,  the 
Poor  Handmaids  of  Christ  and  the  Hospital 
Sisters  of  St.  Francis,  were  introduced,  and  soon 
followed  the  erection  of  many  houses  of  charity 
and  education.  In  1884  the  fine  Convent  of  the 
Sisters  of  Notre  Dame  at  Belleville  was  burned 
to  the  ground.  Bishop  Baltes  died  on  February 
15,  1886.  The  Diocese  at  the  time  of  his  death 
possessed  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  secular 
priests  and  thirty-nine  regulars,  over  five  hun 
dred  religious,  two  hundred  churches,  one 
hundred  parochial  schools  with  eleven  thousand 
pupils,  two  colleges,  three  asylums,  two  houses 
of  the  aged  poor,  and  thirteen  hospitals.  Bishop 
Baltes  was  succeeded  by  the  present  Bishop, 
Right  Rev.  James  Ryan. 


MOST  REV.  PATRICK  A.  FEEHAN,  D.  D., 


THIRD  BISHOP  OF  NASHVILLE,   AND   FIRST  ARCHBISHOP   OF  CHICAGO. 


\ N  two  widely  separated 
Dioceses,  those  of 
Nashville,  Tennessee, 
and  Chicago,  Illinois, 
Archbishop  Feehan 
has  rendered  valuable 
service  to  the  Church. 
He  was  a  native  of 
Tipperary  county, 
Ireland,  and  was  pious 
from  youth,  embracing  the  vocation  for  the 
priesthood  at  an  early  age.  Having  made  his 
theological  studies  at  Maynooth  Seminary  and 
dedicated  himself  to  the  American  missions,  he 
joined  the  Diocese  of  St.  Louis,  where  he  arrived 
in  1852,  and  became  rector  of  the  theological 
seminary  at  Carondelet  and  afterwards  pastor  of 
the  important  Church  of  the  Immaculate  Con 
ception  at  St.  Louis,  where  for  a  number  of  years 
his  labors  were  faithful  and  devoted.  His  zeal, 
ability  and  eloquence  gave  him  such  a  position, 
that,  in  1865,  he  was  appointed  Bishop  of  Nash 
ville  on  the  resignation  of  Bishop  Whelan,  and 
he  was  consecrated  on  November  i.  The  advent 
of  Bishop  Feehan  to  Tennessee  gave  a  new 
impulse  to  the  languishing  works  of  religion, 
and  he  energetically  restored  and  created  many 
agencies  of  good.  Finding  the  Diocese  with 
only  twelve  churches  and  as  many  priests  in 
1865,  he  left  it  in  1880  with  thirty-one  priests, 
twenty-nine  churches,  two  orphan  asylums, 
thirteen  female  religious  institutions,  one  college, 
twenty-one  Catholic  schools  and  twenty-five 


hundred  pupils.  In  the  South  generally  Catho 
licity  has  made  a  slow  progress  contrasted  with 
other  sections  where  Catholic  immigration  sup 
plies  the  ranks  in  new  parishes,  but  Bishop 
Feehan  left  in  the  Diocese  of  Nashville  a  flourish 
ing  college  and  many  religious  communities, 
such  as  Christian  Brothers,  Sisters  of  Mercy,  of 
St.  Dominic,  of  St.  Joseph,  of  Charity,  Sisters 
of  the  Good  Shepherd  and  of  the  Most  Precious 
Blood.  Results  would  have  been  even  better 
but  for  the  ravages  of  the  yellow  fever,  which 
carried  off  as  its  victims  nine  of  his  priests  and 
thirteen  sisters.  In  1880  Bishop  Feehan  was 
appointed  Archbishop  of  Chicago,  and  on  Sep 
tember  10  he  entered  upon  the  duties  of  this 
arduous  office.  Now  his  energies  were  exerted 
to  their  best,  and  the  growth  of  religion  was  un 
precedented  in  that  growing  part  of  the  Church. 
In  Chicago  and  other  cities  and  towns  parishes 
were  multiplied,  institutions  also,  and  he  became 
the  greatest  benefactor  of  St.  Mary's  Boys' 
Training  School.  In  1884  he  attended  the  Third 
Plenary  Council,  of  Baltimore,  and  in  1889  the 
Centenary  Celebrations  at  Baltimore.  The  Dio 
cese  of  Chicago  under  his  wise  administration 
now  possesses  three  hundred  and  twenty-three 
priests  and  sixty-five  ecclesiastical  students ; 
churches  and  chapels  number  three  hundred  and 
•twenty,  four  colleges,  twenty-two  academies,  five 
asylums,  parochial  schools  one  hundred  with 
nearly  forty-five  thousand  children  attending 
them,  and  the  Catholic  population  of  the  Diocese 
is  nearly  half  a  million. 


(44) 


URE.GEBBIE&HirasONCO  L" 


MOST  HEV.P.A.FEEHAH,B.D. 


RIGHT  REV.  JAMES  RYAN.  D.D., 


THIRD  BISHOP  OF  ALTON. 


ISHOP  RYAN  has  been 
well  designated  to  carry 
on  the  noble  work  so 
ably  commenced  by 
those  good  Bishops, 
Right  Rev.  Henry 
Damien  Juncker  and 
Right  Rev.  Peter  Jo 
seph  Baltes.  He  has 
already  proved  himself  their  worthy  successor. 
James  Ryan  was  borii  at  Hurles  in  the  County 
of  Tipperary,  Ireland.  He  was  not  originally 
educated  for  the  priesthood,  but  came  to  this 
country  in  1854,  when  he  was  quite  young,  with 
his  parents,  and  the  family  settled  in  Louisville, 
Kentucky.  He  learned  a  carpenter's  trade,  em 
barked  in  active  business  as  a  builder  and  con 
tractor,  and  thus  acquired  a  vast  amount  of  prac 
tical  and  business  knowledge,  which  served  an 
admirable  purpose  afterwards  when  he  became  a 
builder  of  churches  and  institutions  as  priest  and 
bishop.  His  intelligence,  integrity  and  energy 
in  his  business  brought  him  a  considerable 
fortune,  and  now  he  determined  to  devote  him 
self  and  his  all  to  God  in  the  priesthood.  He 
entered  St.  Thomas'  Seminary  at  Bardstown, 
Kentucky,  made  his  studies  with  industry  and 
success,  patiently  awaiting  the  time  when  his 
superior  should  pronounce  him  ready  for  ordina 
tion.  He  was  the  first  priest  ordained  by  the 
Right  Rev.  William  McCloskey,  Bishop  of  Louis 
ville,  and  now  he  entered  with  zeal  upon  his 
missionary  labors.  His  first  appointment  in  the 
priesthood  was  at  St.  Martin's,  and  next  at 


Elizabethtown,  in  Kentucky,  and  here  he  labored 
zealously  for  five  years.  With  his  characteristic 
good  judgment,  he  now  resigned  his  charge  with 
the  view  of  making  a  more  thorough  ecclesiasti 
cal  course  of  studies,  returned  to  St.  Thomas' 
Seminary,  and  continued  his  theological  studies, 
acting  at  the  same  time  as  Prefect  of  Discipline. 
The  two  years  thus  well  spent  gave  him  attain 
ments  which  marked  him  for  a  higher  sphere. 
He  then  resigned  his  place  at  St.  Thomas,  and 
attached  himself  to  the  Diocese  of  Peoria,  Illinois, 
where  he  received  a  friendly  and  assuring  wel 
come  from  Right  Rev.  John  Lancaster  Spalding, 
the  Bishop  of  the  Diocese.  His  first  mission 
was  the  important  one  of  Wataga,  and  his  second 
was  at  Danville,  at  the  latter  of  which  places  he 
built  a  church.  He  was  next  appointed  to  suc 
ceed  Very  Rev.  Leon  Terry  at  Ottawa,  and  here 
he  built  a  church  costing  sixty  thousand  dollars, 
and  was  building  an  academy  for  the  Sisters  of 
Mercy  costing  thirty  thousand  dollars  and  paro 
chial  school  costing  twenty  thousand  dollars, 
when  he  was  appointed  to  succeed  Dr.  Baltes  as 
Bishop  of  Alton.  He  was  consecrated  May  i, 
1888,  and  immediately  commenced  an  active  Epis 
copate.  The  Diocese  now  contains  one  hundred 
and  nineteen  priests,  of  whom  thirty  are  regulars, 
one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  churches,  and  five 
stations,  fifteen  theological  students,  fifty-six 
parochial  schools  with  an  attendance  of  seven 
thousand  children,  two  orphan  asylums,  eleven 
hospitals  and  a  Catholic  population  of  seventy- 
five  thousand,  which  is  steadily  and  permanently 
increasing. 


IN  MANU  DEI  SUNT    f 


(45) 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  JANSSEN,  D.D.. 


FIRST   BISHOP  OF    BELLEVILLE,    ILLINOIS. 


!HE  task  of  organizing  and 
equipping  a  new  Diocese  was 
imposed  by  the  Holy  See  on 
this  priest  of  Illinois,  and  by 
the  recommendation  of  the 
Bishops  of  the  Province  ;  that 
it  has  fallen  upon  worthy  and 
competent  shoulders  is  now  seen 
in  the  prosperous  condition  of  the 
new  Diocese  of  Belleville.  The 
Right  Rev.  John  Janssen,  the  first 
Bishop  of  Belleville,  was  born  at  Keppelen,  a 
Rhenish  town,  in  the  German  Diocese  of  Munster. 
In  accordance  with  ancient  German  Catholic 
customs  this  son  was  chosen  by  the  parents  for 
the  priesthood,  and  they  saw  that  he  was  edu 
cated  thoroughly  for  his  vocation.  All  his  studies 
aimed  at  this  goal.  While  young  Janssen  was 
an  ecclesiastical  student  at  the  Seminary  of 
Munster,  the  Right  Rev.  Henry  Damien  Juucker, 
Bishop  of  Alton,  called  at  the  seminary  on  his 
way  to  Rome,  and  when  he  appealed  to  the 
students  for  volunteers  for  the  Illinois  missions, 
this  young  Levite  was  among  the  number  of 
those  who  offered  to  leave  country  and  family  to 
announce  the  gospel  in  a  distant  land.  He  was 
then  twenty-three  years  old.  He  completed  his 
studies  at  Alton  and  was  ordained  a  priest  in  the 
Cathedral  of  Saints  Peter  and  Paul,  on  Novem 
ber  19,  1858,  and  two  days  thereafter  offered  up 
his  first  Mass.  His  first  missionary  labors  were 
at  Springfield,  where  he  labored  faithfully  and 


zealously,  commending  himself  to  his  flock,  to 
his  fellow-priests  and  to  his  Bishop.  The  latter, 
knowing  his  fine  education  and  loyalty  to  the 
Church,  selected  him  for  the  important  office  of 
secretary,  and  in  this  capacity  he  rendered  im 
portant  services  to  Bishop  Juncker  and  to  the 
Diocese  of  Alton  until  1868,  the  year  of  Bishop 
Juncker's  death.  On  the  accession  of  Right 
Rev.  Peter  Joseph  Baltes  to  the  See  of  Alton,  on 
January  23,  1870,  Father  Janssen  was  appointed 
Vicar-General,  and  thence  forward  he  resided  at 
the  Alton  Cathedral  and  ably  discharged  the 
duties  of  his  responsible  office.  From  1877  to 
1879  he  was  pastor  of  the  important  Church  of 
St.  Boniface  at  Quiucy,  which  then  needed  his 
able  management.  In  1879  he  returned  to  Alton 
as  Vicar-General.  In  1880  he  visited  his  home 
and  family  in  Germany,  and  was  present  at  the 
celebration  of  the  golden  jubilee  of  his  venerable 
parents ;  but  he  was  soon  again  at  his  post  at 
Alton,  and  in  1883  he  celebrated  his  own  silver 
jubilee  as  a  priest.  On  the  death  of  Bishop 
Baltes  he  was  appointed  administrator  of  Alton 
Diocese,  and  on  January  7,  1887,  he  was  ap 
pointed  first  Bishop  of  Belleville  and  was  conse 
crated  on  April  25,  1888.  So  well  has  the  new 
Diocese  been  equipped  that  it  now  possesses, 
besides  the  religious,  educational  and  charitable 
equipment  mentioned  in  the  history  of  the 
Diocese  herein,  many  fine  institutions  and  so 
cieties  doing  a  good  work  in  the  Diocese  under 
Bishop  Janssen's  leadership. 


(46) 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  LANCASTER  SPALDING,  D.D., 


FIRST  BISHOP  OF   PEORIA. 


HE  career  of  Dr.  Spalding,  both 
as  priest  and  Bishop,  has  been 
most  active,  brilliant,  and  use 
ful.  He  was  born  at  Lebanon, 
Kentucky,  on  June  2,  1840,  his 
ancestors  having  emigrated 
from  Maryland  to  Kentucky, 
and  he  is  a  nephew  of  Arch 
bishop  Spalding,  of  Baltimore, 
of  whom  he  wrote  and  published  a  Biography  of 
unusual  merit.  He  commenced  his  theological 
studies  in  America  and  completed  them  abroad. 
Before  reaching  the  canonical  age  he  was 
ordained  under  dispensation  on  December  19, 
1863.  His  attainments  as  a  scholar,  his  native 
abilities  and  his  eloquence  gave  him  distinction 
at  an  early  age.  Returning  to  his  native  country 
and  State,  his  first  service  as  a  priest  was  at  the 
Louisville  Cathedral  as  an  assistant ;  here  he 
served  with  distinction  for  several  years,  and  in 
1870  was  appointed  pastor  of  St.  Augustine's 
Church  in  the  same  city,  which  was  attended  by 
a  colored  congregation.  He  was  secretary  and 
chancellor  until  1873,  and  in  this  year  he 
removed  to  New  York,  was  a  guest  of  the  Paulist 
Fathers  while  writing  Archbishop  Spalding's 
life  and  afterwards  became  an  assistant  at  the 
Church  of  St.  Michael.  In  every  situation  he 
was  a  man  of  mark,  and  his  eloquence  and  learn- 


ing  were  much  admired,  and  caused  his  services 
to  be  much  sought.  In  1877  the  new  See  of 
Peoria  was  erected  and  Father  Spalding  was 
appointed  its  first  Bishop  ;  he  was  consecrated  at 
the  New  York  Cathedral  by  Cardinal  McCloskey 
on  May  i,  1877.  The  Diocese  comprises  that 
part  of  Illinois  south  of  Whiteside,  Lee,  DeKalb, 
Grundy,  and  Kankakee  counties,  and  possessed 
at  the  time  of  its  erection  fifty-one  priests, 
seventy-five  churches,  and  about  forty-five  thou 
sand  Catholics.  Bishop  Spalding's  energy  and 
zeal  soon  resulted  in  the  founding  of  new 
churches  and  institutions,  and  religion  flourished 
in  his  path.  He  became  an  active  promoter  of 
Catholic  immigration  to  the  West,  and  thus 
aided  the  association  formed  for  this  purpose  in 
drawing  Catholic  immigrants  from  Eastern  cities 
and  tenements  to  Western  farms.  He  was  also 
one  of  the  most  active  movers  in  founding  the 
American  Catholic  University,  and  it  is  through 
him  that  Miss  Caldwell  became  interested  in  this 
enterprise  and  gave  three  hundred  thousand 
dollars  towards  its  endowment.  He  also  travelled 
through  several  parts  of  the  United  States,  and 
by  his  eloquent  appeals  secured  large  sums  of 
money  for  the  University.  His  advocacy  of 
education  has  also  borne  fruits  in  his  Diocese 
in  the  number  of  educational  institutions  and 
parochial  schools. 


<47) 


St.  Peter's  Cathedral,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

CHAPTER  VII. 
PROVINCE  OF  CINCINNATI. 

History  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Cincinnati  and  of  the  Suffragan  Dioceses  of  Cleveland,  Columbus,  Covington,  Detroit,  Fort  Wayne, 

Grand  Rapids,  Louisville,  Nashville  and  Vincennes. 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  CINCINNATI. 


RIGINALLY  the 
States  of 
Ohio,  Mich 
igan  and  the 
°  N  o  r  t  hwe  st 
ern  Terri 
tory  were 
within  the 
old  Diocese 
of  Bards- 


obtained  from  the  Holy  See  the  erection  of  the 
See  of  Cincinnati,  embracing  the  States  of  Ohio, 
Michigan  and  the  Northwestern  Territories.  On 
June  19,  1821,  Rev.  Edward  Fenwick,  of  the 
Dominican  Order,  and  an  old  Western  mission 
ary,  was  appointed  its  first  Bishop.  He  was 
consecrated  by  Bishop  Flaget  on  January  13, 
1822,  at  St.  Rose's,  Washington  county,  Ken 
tucky.  He  commenced  organizing  this  vast 
field  with  two  other  Dominicans  wlirn  Cincin- 


town,  Kentucky,  but  the  saintly  Bishop  Flaget     nati  had  no  church  except  a  small  unfinished 
(48) 


ARCHDIOCESE   OF  CINCINNATI. 


49 


frame  building  and  no  residence  for  the  Bishop. 
He  labored  with  true  apostolic  zeal  and  self- 
sacrifice,  visiting  in  person  the  vast  States  of 
Ohio,  Michigan  and  the  Territories.  He  fell  a 
victim  to  his  zeal,  to  his  charity,  in  visiting  and 
relieving  the  cholera-stricken,  on  September  26, 
1832.  A  vast  good  was  accomplished  by  this 
holy  prelate.  When  he  visited  Europe  in  1823 
Pope  Leo  XII.,  the  Propaganda,  the  Cardinals, 
the  Association  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith, 
the  King  of  France  and  wealthy  Catholics  in 
Sardinia,  Belgium,  Spain  and  Germany,  bestowed 
the  most  generous  aid  upon  the  new  and  unpro 
vided  Diocese,  whose  cause  he  so  zealously  and 
so  effectually  pleaded.  The  Diocese  was  a  vast 
one ;  it  contained  only  two  churches  and  two 
priests  before  the  erection  of  the  See,  but  at 
Bishop  Fen  wick's  death,  in  1832,  this  immense 
district  possessed  twenty  churches  and  thirty 
priests.  The  Athenaeum  was  founded  by  Bishop 
Fenwick,  and  as  early  as  1831  it  embraced  in  its 
plan  the  opening  of  a  "  Common  Free  School." 
Bishop  Fenwick  built  a  cathedral  and  opened 
several  schools  and  introduced  the  Poor  Clares, 
the  Sisters  of  Charity  and  the  Sisters  of  St. 
Dominic.  The  State  of  Michigan  was  detached 
in  1832  and  formed  into  a  separate  Diocese  with 
its  See  at  Detroit. 

In  1833  the  Diocese  of  Cincinnati  passed 
under  the  Episcopal  care  of  Right  Rev.  John 
Baptist  Purcell,  then  President  of  Mt.  St.  Mary's 
College  in  Maryland.  Bishop  Purcell  was  con 
secrated  on  October  13,  1833,  when  the  reduced 
Diocese  had  fourteen  priests  and  sixteen  churches, 
the  Athenaeum  which  grew  into  a  college,  a 
Dominican  Convent  and  Seminary  at  Somerset, 
one  asylum  and  a  school  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity 
at  Cincinnati.  For  nearly  fifty  years  the  labors 
of  this  zealous  and  eloquent  prelate  extended  the 
institutions  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  built  up 
a  vast  religious  organization.  The  Jesuits  were 
received  into  the  Diocese  and  the  Athenaeum 
Academy  was  confided  to  their  care  and  became 
St.  Xavier  College  ;  so  also  were  introduced  the 
Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  the  Brothers  of  Mary, 
the  Priests  of  the  Precious  Blood  and  the  Ursu- 
line  Nuns,  all  of  whom  rendered  invaluable 
services.  Churches,  schools,  convents  and  asy 
lums  sprang  up  on  all  sides.  The  Priests  of  the 
Precious  Blood  labored  chiefly  among  the  Ger 


man  Catholics,  and  it  was  at  Cincinnati  that  the 
first  German  Catholic  Church  was  erected  in  the 
United  States.  The  celebrated  controversy  be 
tween  Bishop  Purcell  and  Alexander  Campbell, 
the  founder  of  the  Campbellites,  occurred  in  Cin 
cinnati  on  January,  1837,  in  the  Baptist  Church 
in  Sycamore  street.  In  1847  tne  Diocese  of 
Cleveland  was  formed,  and  in  1868  that  of  Colum 
bus,  out  of  the  territories  of  the  parent  Diocese. 
In  1850  the  Ecclesiastical  Province  of  Cincinnati 
was  formed,  and  the  Dioceses  of  Cleveland, 
Covington,  Detroit,  Fort  Wayne  and  Louisville 
became  the  Suffragan  Sees  of  the  Metropolitan, 
and  Dr.  Purcell  became  an  Archbishop.  He 
received  the  pallium,  together  with  Archbishop 
Hughes,  at  Rome,  from  the  hands  of  Pope  Pius 
IX.  in  1851  in  the  Pope's  private  chapel.  The 
Franciscans,  the  Passionists,  the  Franciscan 
Brothers,  the  Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  the 
Sisters  of  the  Precious  Blood,  the  Brothers  of  the 
Holy  Cross,  the  Sisters  of  St.  Clare  and  Sisters 
of  Mercy,  were  received  into  the  Diocese  during 
Archbishop  Purcell's  administration.  A  great 
work  of  the  Diocese  was  the  establishment  of  St. 
Mary's  of  the  West,  which  was  the  Diocesan 
Seminary.  The  fine  Cathedral  of  St.  Peter  was 
erected  and  dedicated  with  imposing  ceremonies 
on  November  i,  1845.  Archbishop  Purcell  also 
founded  the  Catholic  Telegraph.  In  the  latter 
part  of  his  life  and  administration  financial  mis 
fortunes  overtook  the  Archbishop  and  the  Diocese 
of  Cincinnati.  The  financial  affairs  had  been  left  to 
the  Archbishop's  brother,  Very  Rev.  Edward  Pur 
cell,  who  received  from  the  people  large  sums  of 
money,  mostly  from  the  poor,  and  paid  interest 
thereon.  How  far  these  moneys  were  used  for 
building  churches,  schools  and  asylums  cannot  be 
definitely  ascertained.  The  indebtedness  reached 
$3,874,371.56,  and  Father  Purcell's  assets  were 
merely  nominal.  The  Archbishop  made  an  assign 
ment  for  the  benefit  of  the  creditors  of  all  proper 
ties  belonging  to  him  and  in  his  name.  Prolonged 
litigation  ensued,  and  the  principal  result  was 
that  the  churches  and  institutions  were  held  only 
liable  for  moneys  actually  advanced  to  them  or 
applied  to  their  use,  and  that  what  Archbishop 
Purcell  held  in  trust  could  not  be  made  liable  for 
his  own  or  his  brother's  debts.  He  asked  to 
resign,  but  a  Co-adjutor  was  appointed,  Right 
Rev.  Bishop  Elder,  of  Natchez,  who  took  the  ad- 


ARCHDIOCESE   OF  CINCINNATI. 


ministration  into  his  hands  in  May,  1880.  Very 
Rev.  Edward  Purcell  died  of  a  broken  heart,  and 
Archbishop  Purcell,  in  his  retirement  at  the 
Brown  county  Ursuline  Convent,  died  July  4, 


1883.  Dr.  Elder  succeeded  as  Archbishop  of 
Cincinnati,  and  he  and  his  priests  and  laity  have 
used  every  effort  to  pay  the  indebtedness,  even 
in  cases  where  there  was  no  legal  liability. 


DIOCESE  OF  CLEVELAND. 


IN  1847  the  Diocese  of  Cleveland  was  erected, 
and  it  consisted  of  that  portion  of  the  State  of  Ohio 
lying  north  of  the  southern  boundary  of  Colum- 
.biana,  Stark,  Wayne,  Crawford,  Wyandot,  Han- 


Cathedral  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  Detroit,  Michigan. 

cock,  Allen  and  Van  Wert  counties,  which  had 
previously  been  the  field  of  the  missionary  labors 
of  Fathers  Rappe  and  de  Goesbriand.  Right  Rev. 
Louis  Amadeus  Rappe  was  appointed  first  Bishop, 
and  was  consecrated  at  Cincinnati  by  Arch 
bishop  Purcell,  on  October  10,  1847.  St.  Mary's 
on  the  Flats  was  the  only  church  in  Cleveland, 
and  Rev.  M.  Howard  the  only  priest.  Bishop 


Rappe  labored  as  a  Bishop  just  as  he  had 
labored  as  a  priest,  and  his  labors  built  up  a 
flourishing  Diocese.  He  laid  the  corner-stone 
of  the  Cathedral,  on  October  22,  1848;  he  or 
dained  new  priests ;  secured  more  priests  and 
other  aid  from  Europe,  and  introduced  the  Ur 
suline  Nuns :  St.  Mary's  and  St.  Vincent's 
Asylums  were  founded;  the  former  in  1851,  and 
placed  in  the  care  of  the  Ladies  of  the  Sacred 
Heart  of  Mary  ;  the  latter  in  1852,  and  given  to 
the  Sisters  of  Charity ;  the  Charity  Hospital,  in 
1865 ;  and  the  Sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  in 
1869;  the  Gray  Nuns,  in  1856;  Little  Sisters 
of  the  Poor,  in  1870;  the  Franciscan  Fathers,  in 
1867;  the  Jesuits,  in  1869,  and  other  religions 
were  introduced.  The  fine  Cathedral  was  finished 
and  dedicated  in  December,  1852.  The  Bishop  of 
Cleveland  was  a  saintly  man,  and  yet  he  was  ac 
cused  by  some  of  his  own  priests  of  offences  he 
knew  not  of;  and  though  he  was  not  removed 
by  Rome  he  was  led  to  resign.  Rome  afterwards 
endeavored  to  do  him  justice  by  bestowing  an 
honorable  office  in  the  Church.  He  resigned  on 
August  22,  1870,  and  died  in  Vermont,  on 
August  8,  1877.  The  Diocese  of  Cleveland 
next  passed  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Right 
Rev.  Richard  Gilmour,  who  died  in  1891.  In 
1847  Cleveland  had  one  small  church;  in  1870, 
eleven  ;  and  the  Diocese  now,  in  1890,  possesses 
two  hundred  and  twenty-nine  churches,  besides 
stations  and  chapels,  two  hundred  and  eight 
priests,  one  college,  seven  academies,  six  asy 
lums,  three  hospitals,  seven  male  and  twenty- 
two  female  institutions,  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
seven  parochial  schools,  and  a  Catholic  popula 
tion  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand. 


DIOCESE  OF  COLUMBUS,  OHIO. 

THE  Holy  See  erected  the  See  of  Columbus,  embraced  that  part  of  Ohio  south  of  40°  4',  and 

and    appointed    Right  Rev.    Sylvester    Horton  lying  between  the  Ohio  and  the  Scioto  Rivers,  to- 

Rosecrans,  then  Co-adjutor  Bishop  of  Cincinnati,  gether  with  the  counties  of  Franklin,  Delaware 

its  first  Bishop,  March  3,  1868,  and  the  Diocese  and    Morrow.      The    Diocese    possessed     forty 


DIOCESE  OF  COVINGTON. 


churches,  as  many  priests,  and  a  Catholic  popu 
lation    of   forty   thousand ;    the  old   Dominican 


St.  Joseph's  Cathedral,  Columbus,  Ohio.     . 

Convent  of  St.  Joseph  and  institutions  of  the 
Sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  Sisters  of  Notre 
Dame  and  Franciscan  Sisters  of  the  Poor. 
Columbus  contained  three  churches.  The 


Dominican  Academy  of  St.  Mary  was  erected 
near  Columbus  towards  the  close  of  1868,  and 
not  long  afterwards  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Joseph 
was  commenced,  and  in  1871  the  Ecclesiastical 
Seminary  of  St.  Aloysius  was  erected  and  opened 
for  aspirants  to  the  priesthood.  The  Cathedral 
was  a  fine  and  solid  building,  and  was  dedicated  on 
October  20,  1878.  On  the  same  day  the  Diocese 
of  Columbus  lost  its  Bishop,  who  died  suddenly 
in  the  afternoon  of  the  dedication  day.  The 
Bishop's  only  residence  was  in  the  orphan  asy 
lum  among  the  poor  orphans.  The  second 
solemn  service  in  the  Cathedral  was  the  Requiem 
Mass  for  Bishop  Rosecrans.  The  Diocese  then 
possessed  seventy-seven  churches,  forty  chapels 
and  stations,  fifty-nine  priests,  two  male  religious 
institutions,  nine  female  institutions,  five  acad 
emies,  twenty-eight  parochial  schools,  one 
hospital,  two  asylums  and  a  Catholic  popula 
tion  of  sixty  thousand.  Very  Rev.  Father  N. 
A.  Gallagher  administered  the  Diocese,  and 
Right  Rev.  John  Ambrose  Watterson  succeeded 
Bishop  Rosecrans,  August  8,  1880. 


DIOCESE  OF  COVINGTON. 


ON  July  29,  1853,  the  See  of  Covington, 
Kentucky,  was  erected,  and  Rev.  George  Aloy 
sius  Carroll  was  appointed  first  Bishop,  who  was 
consecrated  on  November  i,  1883.  The  Diocese 
embraces  that  part  of  the  State  of  Kentucky 
which  lies  east  of  the  Kentucky  River  and  of 
the  western  limit  of  Carroll,  Owen,  Franklin, 
Woolford,  Jessamine,  Garrard,  Rockcastle, 
Laurel  and  Whitley  counties  :  it  contained  then 
only  ten  churches  and  seven  priests.  The  new 
Cathedral  of  St.  Mary's  was  soon  erected  and 
dedicated,  and  the  Sisters  of  the  Poor  of  St. 
Francis,  the  Sisters  of  Charity  of  Nazareth,  the 
Monks  and  Nuns  of  St.  Benedict,  the  Sisters  of 
the  Visitation  and  Ursuline  Nuns,  were  intro 
duced.  At  the  death  of  Bishop  Carroll,  on 
September  25,  1868,  the  Diocese  possessed  forty- 
four  churches  and  forty-five  chapels  and  stations, 
thirty-three  priests,  two  male  and  twelve  female 
religious  houses,  and  four  houses  of  Charity. 
The  Diocese  next  received  as  its  Bishop  the 
Right  Rev.  Augustus  Mary  Toebbe,  who  was 
consecrated  by  Bishop  Rosecrans,  on  January  9, 
1870.  Many  new  churches  were  built,  and  the 


Diocesan  Seminary  founded ;  the  Sisters  of  the 
Good  Shepherd  and  the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame 


St.  Mary's  Cathedral,  Covington,  Kentucky. 

were  introduced.  In  1871  a  miraculous  cure  of 
one  of  the  Sisters  of  the  Poor  in  St.  Elizabeth's 
hospital  at  Covington  occurred,  and  was  certified 
by  the  Bishop.  After  having  increased  the 
number  of  the  churches  in  the  Diocese  to  fifty- 


ARCHDIOCESE   OF   CINCINNATI. 


two,  the  priests  to  fifty-six,  and  after  having  seen  on  May  2,  1884.     The  next  Bishop  of  Coving- 

the  Catholic  population  increased  to  forty  thou-  ton  was  Right  Rev.  Camillns  Paul  Maes,  who 

sand,  and   having  founded  St.  Joseph's  Orphan  now  governs  the  Diocese  with  zeal,  prudence  and 

Asylum,  at  Cold  Spring,  Bishop  Toebbe  died,  ability. 


DIOCESE  OF  DETROIT. 


IN  1832  the  Diocese  of  Detroit,  embracing  the 
extensive   States  of   Michigan   and  Wisconsin, 


Pro-Cathedral  St.  Aloysius,  Detroit,  Mich. 

formerly  the  Northwest  Territory,  was  erected 
by  the  Holy  See.  Right  Rev.  Frederick  Rese, 
administrator  of  Cincinnati,  was  appointed  its 
first  Bishop.  He  was  consecrated  by  Bishop 
Rosati  at  Cincinnati  on  October  3,  1833,  an^ 
took  possession  of  his  See  on  January  7,  1834; 
at  Detroit  was  St.  Ann's,  with  Father  Badin  as 
pastor;  at  Green  Bay  the  Ligourist  or  Re- 
demptorist  Seminary ;  Indian  Mission  at  Arbre 
Croche,  attended  by  Father  afterwards  Bishop 
Baraga ;  a  church  at  Mackinaw,  served  by 
Father  Mazzuchelli ;  a  church  at  Monroe,  served 
by  Rev.  P.  Carabin ;  and  at  St.  Joseph's  River, 
a  church  served  by  Fathers  Badin  and  Boheme. 
Detroit,  formerly  called  Pontchartrain,  was  a 
religious  field  two  centuries  ago,  and  is  as 
sociated  with  such  names  as  Marquette,  Rale 
and  Richard ;  and  the  list  of  its  pastors  from 
1703  to  the  present  time  is  preserved.  A  col 
lege  was  established  at  Detroit,  and  academies 


by  Bishop  Baraga.  Bishop  Rese's  administra 
tion  was  short ;  his  mind  was  probably  impaired. 
Owing  to  infirmities  he  resigned  his  See  at  the 
Third  Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore  in  April, 
1837,  and  returned  to  Germany  after  spending 
some  years  at  Rome.  His  mental  malady  re 
turned  in  his  old  age,  when  he  was  quite  imbecile. 
He  died  on  December  27,  1871.  As  Bishop 
Rese  still  retained  the  title  of  Bishop  of  Detroit, 
his  successor,  Right  Rev.  Peter  Paul  Lefevre, 
was  consecrated  under  the  title  of  Bishop  of 
Zela,  and  was  also  appointed  administrator.  His 
consecration  was  performed  at  Philadelphia  by 
Bishop  Kenrick  on  November  21,  1841;  the 


Right  Rev.  Caspar  H.  Borgess,  D.  D.,  Third  Bishop  of  Detroit. 


were  erected  there  and  at  Green  Bay  by  the  Poor  Diocese  then  possessing  twenty  churches,  seven- 
Clares  of  St.  Francis.  The  Indian  missions  of  teen  priests  and  a  Catholic  population  of  twenty 
the  Upper  Peninsula  were  now  attended  zealously  thousand.  The  Redemptorist  Convent  at  De- 


DIOCESE  OF  FORT  WAYNE. 


53 


troit  was  founded  by  Bishop  Lefevre.  The 
Diocese  also  procured  priests  from  the  American 
College  of  Louvain,  and  while,  in  1841,  there 
were  only  seventeen  priests  in  the  whole  vast 
Diocese,  in  1869  there  were  in  the  Lower  Penin 
sula  alone  eighty-eight  priests.  Bishop  Lefevre 
introduced  the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  Sisters  of 
Charity,  Sister  Servants  of  the  Immaculate 
Heart  of  Mary,  Brothers  of  the  Christian  Schools 
and  the  Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart.  The 
Cathedral  of  Saints  Peter  and  Paxil  was  erected 
by  Bishop  Lefevre.  He  died  on  March  4,  1869, 
leaving  in  the  Lower  Peninsula  alone  eighty 
churches,  one  hospital,  four  asylums,  two  academ 
ies,  three  male  select  schools,  an  insane  asylum 
and  a  Catholic  population  of  more  than  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand.  Right  Rev.  Caspar 
Henry  Borgess  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Caly- 
don  at  Cincinnati  on  April  4,  1870,  and  appointed 
administrator  of  Detroit.  He  immediately  took 
the  administration  into  his  hands,  and  on 
December  27,  1871,  on  the  death  of  Bishop  Rese 
in  Germany,  he  became  Bishop  of  Detroit.  The 


Jesuits  established  Detroit  College,  the  Polish 
Seminary  of  Saints  Cyrillus  and  Methodius  was 
founded,  the  Capuchin  Monastery  of  St.  Bona- 
venture  was  established,  and  a  Home  for  the 
Aged,  conducted  by  the  Little  Sisters  of  the 
Poor,  was  opened.  Schools  were  opened  by  the 
Christian  Brothers,  Franciscan  Brothers,  Sisters 
of  the  Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary,  Sisters  of 
Notre  Dame,  of  St.  Dominic,  of  Christian 
Charity,  of  Providence,  of  St.  Agnes,  of  the 
Sacred  Heart  and  the  Polish  Franciscan  Sisters. 
Bishop  Borgess  resigned  on  April  16,  1887,  and 
was  succeeded  by  the  Right  Rev.  John  Foley, 
the  present  Bishop  of  Detroit.  The  Diocese 
possessed  at  the  resignation  of  Bishop  Borgess 
one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  priests,  twenty-five 
Diocesan  students,  one  hundred  and  sixty-four 
churches  and  chapels,  twenty-five  stations,  five 
asylums,  fifty-seven  schools  and  forty-four  free 
schools,  attended  by  nearly  twelve  thousand 
pupils,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  thousand.  Detroit  college  has 
268  pupils.  Bishop  Borgess  died  May  3,  1890. 


DIOCESE  OF  FORT  WAYNE. 


THE  growth  of  the  Church  in  Indiana  was  so 
great  that  the  Diocese  of  Viucennes  was  neces- 


Cathedral  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  Fort  Wayne,  Ind. 

sarily  divided  into  two  Dioceses.     The  National 


Road,  which  divided  the  State  in  two,  was  selected 
as  the  boundary,  and  the  new  See  was  located 
at  Fort  Wayne.  Right  Rev.  John  Henry  Lners 
was  appointed  first  Bishop,  and  he  was  conse 
crated  at  the  Cincinnati  Cathedral  by  Archbishop 
Purcell  on  January  10,  1858.  The  new  See  con 
tained  thirty-eight  counties ;  the  Episcopal  city 
possessed  only  one  small  frame  church,  which 
became  the  cathedral,  and  nineteen  other  churches 
and  only  fourteen  priests.  The  University  of 
Notre  Dame  and  St.  Mary's  Academy  were  in 
the  Diocese,  and  thus,  also,  the  parent  houses  of 
the  Priests  and  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross.  A 
cathedral  was  soon  commenced,  in  1859,  and  by 
winter  was  covered  in,  and  a  grand  fair  held 
within  its  walls  ;  it  was  soon  finished  and  dedi 
cated.  The  old  and  dilapidated  churches  were 
replaced  with  new  ones  throughout  the  State. 
A  modest  brick  building  erected  by  Father  Ben- 
noit  became  the  Episcopal  residence.  The  Sis 
ters  of  the  Holy  Cross,  during  the  visit  of  the 
Bishop  to  Rome  in  1864,  were  formed  into  a 
separate  congregation  from  that  of  France,  and 
the  Bishop  was  commissioned  by  Pius  IX.  to 


54 


ARCHDIOCESE   OF  CINCINNATI. 


prepare  the  rules  for  the  new  community.  The 
Diocese  also  possessed  the  Sisters  of  Providence, 
introduced  by  Father  Bennoit,  and  Bishop 
Luers  introduced  the  Sisters  of  the  Precious 
Blood.  The  Spilter  Farm,  near  Fort  Wayne,  was 
purchased  in  1865,  and  St.  Joseph's  Orphan 
Asylum  founded  and  filled  with  orphans.  The 
Diocese  was  represented  by  Bishop  Luers  in  the 
Provincial  Councils  of  Cincinnati,  the  Plenary 
Council  of  Baltimore  in  1866,  and  in  the  Council 


of  the  Vatican.  He  died  suddenly  of  apoplexy 
on  June  29,  1871,  and  was  succeeded  by  the 
Right  Rev.  Joseph  Dwenger,  the  present  Bishop. 
At  this  time  the  Diocese  possessed  forty-seven 
secular  priests,  twenty-two  regulars  and  five 
students  ;  seventy-seven  churches,  fourteen  chap 
els  and  seven  churches  building ;  one  hospital, 
six  religious  institutions,  college,  asylum,  four 
teen  literary  institutions,  forty-two  parish  schools 
and  fifty  thousand  Catholics. 


St.  Andrew's  Cathedral  Church,  Grand  Rapids,  Mich. 


DIOCESE  OF  GRAND  RAPIDS,  MICHIGAN. 

THE  Diocese  of  Grand  Rapids  was  erected  by 
Pope  Leo  XIII.  on  May  19,  1882,  and  embraces 
the  counties  of  the  Lower  Peninsula  north  of 
the  southern  line  of  the  counties  of  Ottawa, 
Kent,  Montcalm,  Gratiot  and  Saginaw  and  west 
of  the  eastern  line  of  Sagiuaw  and  Bay  counties 
and  adjacent  islands.  Right  Rev.  Henry  Jo 
seph  Richter  was  appointed  first  Bishop,  on  Jan 
uary  30,  and  consecrated  by  Most  Rev.  William 
Henry  Elder,  of  Cincinnati,  in  St.  Andrew's 
Cathedral  at  Grand  Rapids,  on  April  22,  1883. 
At  that  time  the  new  Diocese  possessed  thirty- 
three  churches  with  resident  pastors,  seventeen 
parochial  schools  and  a  Catholic  population  of 
about  forty-five  thousand.  The  Diocese  has  been 
well .  organized,  in  accordance  with  the  Decrees 
of  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore,  with 
consultors,  examiners  of  the  clergy,  procurator 
fiscalis,  defensor  matrimonii  and  notary.  The 
episcopal  city  contains  five  churches  and  a  chapel 
of  the  Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor  and  is  a  mis 
sionary  centre.  The  Diocese  now  possesses 
nearly  fifteen  thousand  Catholic  families,  and 
one  hundred  and  fourteen  orphans  are  taken 
care  of  by  religious  sisters. 


DIOCESE  OF 

THE  original  See  of  Louisville  was  at  Bards- 
town  and  was  erected  in  1808,  among  the  first  four 
new  Sees  erected  after  the  See  of  Baltimore,  and 
its  Bishop  was  one  of  the  first  four  suffragans  to 
Archbishop  Carroll.  Right  Rev.  Benedict  Jo 
seph  Flaget  was  first  Bishop  of  Bardstown,  and 
afterwards  of  Louisville,  and  he  was  consecrated 
at  Baltimore  by  Archbishop  Carroll  on  Novem 
ber  4,  1810,  yielding  to  the  command  of  the 


LOUISVILLE. 
Holy  See  after  repeated  efforts  to  decline. 


The 


Diocese  covered  Kentucky,  Indiana,  Michigan 
and  Tennessee.  The  Bishop  was  so  poor  that 
his  friends  had  to  supply  him  with  means  to 
reach  his  See,  and  he  resided  in  a  log-cabin  in 
Bardstown.  In  1841  the  See  was  removed  to 
Louisville.  Bishop  Flaget  having  resigned  his 
See  in  1830,  Bishop  David,  his  Co-adjutor  and 
successor,  became  second  Bishop  of  Bardstown, 


DIOCESE  OF  NASHVILLE. 


55 


Cathedral  of  the  Assumption,  Louisville,  Ky. 


but  as  Rome  afterwards  excused  Bishop  David,, 
Bishop  Flaget  became  third  Bishop  of  Bards- 
town.  His  second  Co-adjutor  was  Right  Rev. 
Guy  Ignatius  Chabrat.  Bishop  David  was  con 
secrated  as  Bishop  of  Mauricastro  and  Co-adjutor 
on  August  15,  1819,  and  died  on  July  12,  1841. 
Bishop  Chabrat  was  consecrated  as  Bishop  of 
Bolivia  and  Co-adjutor  on  July  20,  1834,  and  re 
signed  in  1847,  i»  consequence  of  the  loss  of 
sight.  Right  Rev.  Martin  John  Spalding  was 
consecrated  Bishop  of  Langone  and  Co-adjutor  on 
September  10,  1848,  and  succeeded  as  Bishop  of 
Louisville  on  the  death  of  the  saintly  Bishop 
Flaget,  on  February  n,  1850.  Bishop  Spalding 
ruled  the  Diocese  until  his  translation  to  the 
See  of  Baltimore,  on  May  3,  1864,  when  Right 
Rev.  Peter  Joseph  Lavielle  was  appointed  Bishop 
of  Louisville,  and  was  consecrated  on  September 
24,  1865,  an(i  died  on  May  u,  1867.  Right 
Rev,  William  G.  McCloskey  was  consecrated 
fourth  Bishop  of  Louisville  on  May  24,  1868. 
Louisville,  or  rather  Bardstown,  was  the  mother 
of  Dioceses,  seven  Dioceses  now  occupying  its 
original  area.  In  1868  the  reduced  Diocese  pos 
sessed  a  Catholic  population  of  eighty  thousand, 
eighty-four  priests  and  seventy-five  churches. 


DIOCESE  OP  NASHVILLE. 

IN  accordance  with  the  recommendation  of  the 
Thijrd  Council  of  Baltimore,  the  Diocese  of  Nash 
ville,  embracing  the  State  of  Tennessee,  was 
erected  in  1838.  Right  Rev.  Richard  Pius  Miles, 
of  the  Dominican  Order,  was  appointed  first 
Bishop  and  was  consecrated  at  the  Bardstown 
Cathedral  by  Bishop  Rosati,  of  St.  Louis,  on 
September  16,  1838.  When  Bishop  Miles  took 
possession  of  his  See  there  was  little  to  take  pos 
session  of,  for  there  was  not  a  priest  in  the  State 
and  only  two  dilapidated  shanty  churches. 
Without  cathedral  or  episcopal  residence,  he 
commenced  his  work  with  nine  communicants. 
In  1847  he  dedicated  his  cathedral.  He  built  an 
episcopal  residence,  an  academy  and  a  hospital 
under  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  and  introduced  the 
Dominican  Sisters.  He  commenced  building 
churches  and  opening  schools.  In  1842  the  first 
priest  in  Tennessee  was  ordained.  In  1859 
Right  Rev.  James  Whelan  was  appointed  Co 
adjutor  and  was  consecrated  as  Bishop  of  Marco- 
polis  on  May  8,  1859.  Bishop  Miles  died  on 


Cathedral,  Nashville,  Teun. 


*  * 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  CINCINNATI. 


February  21,  1860,  when  Bishop  Whelan  suc 
ceeded  as  Bishop  of  Nashville.  Then  the  Dio 
cese  had  eleven  priests,  twenty-two  churches  and 
chapels  and  forty  stations,  three  female  religious 
houses,  two  academies,  ten  parish  schools,  one 
asylum  and  thirteen  thousand  Catholics.  The 
civil  war  paralyzed  Bishop  Whelan's  energies, 
and  owing  to  his  own  infirmities  he  resigned  the 
See  in.  1864.  Right  Rev.  Patrick  A.  Feehan, 
now  Archbishop  of  Chicago,  was  the  next  Bishop 
of  Nashville,  and  he  governed  the  Diocese  with 


immense  increase  in  all  its  works  until  1880, 
when  he  went  to  Chicago.  The  Diocese  of  Nash 
ville  then  possessed  twenty-seven  priests,  twenty- 
nine  churches,  two  asylums,  thirteen  religious 
institutions,  twenty-three  Catholic  schools,  one 
college  and  twenty-five  hundred  children  attend 
ing  Catholic  schools.  In  1883  the  Diocese  of 
Nashville  passed  under  the  administration  of 
Right  Rev.  Joseph  Rademacher,  the  present 
Bishop  of  the  Diocese.  The  Diocese  possesses 
several  religious  orders  and  congregations. 


DlOCESE  OF  VlNCENNES. 


THE  Diocese  of  Vincennes  has  been  sanctified 
by  the  saintly  life  and  virtues  of  the  good  and 


St.  Francis  Xavier's  Cathedral,  Vincennes,  Ind. 

learnedBishop  Brute  and  of  his  worthy  successors. 
Erected  in  1834,  the  Right  Rev.  Simon  Gabriel 
Brute  was  appointed  the  Bishop  of  the  Diocese, 
which  embraced  the  State  of  Indiana.  He  was 
consecrated  in  the  St.  Louis  Cathedral  on  October 
28, 1834,  and  taking  possession  of  his  See,  he  found 
nine  stations  or  small  churches,  one  permanent 
pastor,  Rev.  Simon  Lalumiere,  and  Father  Ba- 
din  occasionally  visited  Logansport  and  Fort 
Wayne.  Most  of  the  stations  received  no  visits. 
In  his  poverty  the  good  Bishop  founded  a  semi 
nary  for  young  Levites,  an  asylum  and  a  school, 


the  means  being  brought  from  Europe  by  him,  in 
the  visit  he  made  there  after  his  consecration.  He 
had  made  a  noble  beginning,  when,  taking  cold 
on  his  way  to  the  Council  at  Baltimore  in  1837, 
his  health  never  recovered,  and  he  died  on  June 
26,  1839,  in  the  odor  of  sanctity.  The  Diocese 
was  next  governed  by  Right  Rev.  Celestine  Rene 
Lawrence  G.  de  la  Hailandiere,  who  was  conse 
crated  at  Paris  on  August  18,  1839,  and  brought 
to  Vincennes  a  considerable  amount  of  means 
and  ecclesiastical  property  for  the  Diocese.  The 
large  landed  estate  now  belonging  to  the  congre 
gation  of  the  Holy  Cross,  and  on  which  the  Uni- 


Right  Rev.  S.  G.  Brute1,  First  Bishop  of  Vincennes,  Ind. 

versity  of  Notre  Dame  and  St.  Mary's  Academy 
are  built,  was  given  by  him  to  Father  Sorin. 
He  resigned  his  See  in  1847,  and  was  succeeded 
by  the  Right  Rev.  John  Stephen  Bazin,  who  was 
consecrated  at  Vincennes  on  October  24,  1847, 
but  his  health  was  infirm,  and  he  died  on  April 


DIOCESE  OF  VINCENNES. 


57 


23,  1848.  The  Diocese  of  Vincennes  was  next 
governed  by  Right  Rev.  James  Maurice  de  Saint 
Palais,  who  was  consecrated  on  January  14,  1849, 
and  proved  an  admirable  Bishop.  The  Benedic 
tines,  Conventual  Franciscans,  Brothers  of  the 
Sacred  Heart,  Franciscan  and  Benedictine  Sisters, 
Ursulines,  Sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  St. 
Joseph's  Sisters  and  the  Little  Sisters  of  the 


Poor  were  introduced.  He  increased  his  priests 
from  thirty-five  to  one  hundred  and  seventeen, 
his  churches  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
one,  and  the  Catholic  population  grew  from  thirty 
to  ninety  thousand.  He  died  June  28,  1877,  and 
was  succeeded  by  the  Right  Rev.  Francis  Silas 
Chatand,  in  whose  biography  the  history  of  this 
Diocese  will  be  continued. 


St.  John's  Church,  Indianapolis,  Ind. 


MOST  REV.  WILLIAM  HENRY  ELDER,  D.D., 


THIRD   BISHOP  OF   NATCHEZ   AND    SECOND  ARCHBISHOP  OF  CINCINNATI. 


ORN  in  Baltimore  in 
1819,  and  showing  a 
•  vocation  for  the  priest 
hood  from  an  early  age, 
William  Henry  Elder 
entered  Mt.  St.  Mary's 
College,  Emnietts- 
burgh ;  afterwards  he 
completed  his  theologi 
cal  studies  at  the  Propaganda  at  Rome,  and  was 
ordained  there  in  1846.  On  returning  home  he 
became  a  professor  and  president  in  his  Alma 
Mater.  He  was  appointed  Bishop  of  Natchez 
on  January  9,  1857,  and  was  consecrated  at  the 
Baltimore  Cathedral  by  the  Most  Rev.  Francis 
Patrick  Kenrick  on  May  3  ;  Bishop  McGill,  of 
Richmond,  and  Bishop  Wood,  of  Philadelphia, 
being  the  assisting  prelates.  With  a  scattered 
flock  and  scanty  means  his  labors  were  arduoxis 
and  his  zeal  apostolic.  During  the  sivil  war 
Bishop  Elder,  his  priests  and  the  good  Sisters 
did  all  in  their  power  to  assist  the  wounded,  the 
sick  and  the  afflicted.  The  end  of  the  war  left 
his  Diocese,  his  churches  and  institutions  of 
charity  and  education  impoverished.  The  severe 
task  of  restoring  and  reorganizing  broken  up 
congregations,  and  of  reopening  schools  and 
asylums  desolated  and  ruined,  gave  him  no  rest 
after  the  war,  but  he  and  his  priests  and  the 
religious  that  were  left  did  their  part  nobly. 
A  great  personal  trial  awaited  Bishop  Elder, 
from  the  hands  of  the  local  military  authorities, 
who  were  at  that  time  very  frequently  most 
despotic  in  their  conduct  He  was  arrested  by 
Colonel  Farrar  of  the  arrny  for  not  obeying  a 
military  order  that  a  prayer  for  the  President  of 


the  United  States  should  be  said  in  the  churches. 
He  did  not  so  much  object  to  praying  for  the 
President  as  he  did  to  the  interference  of  the 
military,  or  any  officer  of  the  government,  with 
religion  and  with  divine  service ;  he  was  sent  as 
a  prisoner  to  Vidalia  in  Louisiana,  and  after 
undergoing  indignities  and  sufferings,  the  order 
was  revoked  by  the  general  or  superior  officer. 
In  1878  the  cholera  visited  his  city  and  Diocese ; 
Bishop  Elder  and  his  priests  and  sisters  spent 
themselves  heroically  for  the  afflicted  ;  he  was 
seized  by  the  epidemic,  and  it  was  reported  that 
he  was  dead ;  shortly  afterwards  he  was  offered 
the  Co-adj  utorship  of  San  Francisco,  with  the 
right  of  succession,  but  declined  it.  When  finan 
cial  troubles  overwhelmed  Archbishop  Purcell, 
of  Cincinnati,  a  command  from  Rome  induced 
'his  acceptance  of  the  Co-adj  utorship  and  the 
administration  of  that  Archdiocese  on  January 
30,  1880;  his  title  was  Bishop  of  Avara.  A 
more  difficult  task  could  not  have  been  given  to  a 
Bishop,  but  he  grappled  the  difficulties  of  the 
situation,  and  while  leaving  the  law  to  decide  the 
questions  involved,  he  appealed  to  his  priests  and 
people  to  pay  the  debts  that  were  due  to  the  poor, 
though  the  courts  held  him  not  liable  for  them. 
By  the  death  of  Archbishop  Purcell  on  July  4, 
1882,  he  became  Archbishop  of  Cincinnati.  He 
held  the  Provincial  Council  of  Cincinnati,  in  the 
midst  of  his  labors,  attended  the  Third  Council 
of  Baltimore  and  aided  in  founding  the  Catholic 
University.  The  Archdiocese  now  possesses  two 
hundred  and  twenty-six  priests,  eighty-nine 
parochial  schools,  two  hundred  and  twenty-six 
churches,  chapels  and  fctations,  and  a  Catholic 
population  of  one  hundred  and  ninety  thousand. 


COPYRIGHTED  1888  BY  GEBBIEfcCO. 


GRAVURE.GEBBIE  ft HUSSON  CO.LT» 


ST  REV.  WILLIAM  HENRY  ELDER 
;^/;>//       ,./'','>'.,    ,.,„„/, 


RIGHT  REV.  RICHARD  GILMOUR,  D.  D., 


SECOND   BISHOP   OF  CLEVELAND. 


CONVERT  to  the  Catholic  faith, 
Bishop  Gilmour  was  born  in 
Glasgow,  Scotland,  on  Sep 
tember  28,  1824.  His  family 
trained  him  in  the  faith  and  wor 
ship  of  the  Covenanters.  The 
Gilmours  immigrated  to  Can 
ada,  and  thence  to  Pennsylva 
nia,  and  young  Richard  waxed 
strong  in  frame  of  body  and  in  mind  and 
acquired  the  American  habit  of  investiga 
tion.  Having  entered  a  Catholic  church 
one  day,  he  heard  a  sermon  and  saw  the  piety 
of  the  congregation,  which  deeply  impressed  him. 
Investigation  followed.  He  not  only  became  a 
Catholic,  but  also  resolved  to  become  a  priest. 
Entering  Mount  St.  Mary's  Seminary,  he  made 
his  theological  studies  with  signal  success  and 
was  ordained  by  Archbishop  Purcell  on  August 
30,  1852.  Southern  Ohio  was  the  field  of  his 
laborious  missions,  giving  his  services  zealously 
to  several  stations,  such  as  Portsmouth,  Galli- 
polis,  Wilkesville  and  Iron  ton.  Chapels  were 
replaced  with  churches.  Wherever  he  went  as 
pastor  he  erected  schools.  As  pastor  of  St.  Pat 
rick's  Church,  in  Cincinnati,  in  1857,  he  not 
only  gave  his  congregation  the  best  school  build 
ing  in  the  State,  but  he  also  wrote  and  published 
several  religious  school-books,  such  as  school 
readers,  a  Bible  history  and  a  volume  of  songs 
and  hymns.  He  was  appointed  to  a  professor 
ship  in  Mount  St.  Mary's  of  the  West,  the  theo 


logical  seminary  of  the  Archdiocese,  and  thence 
he  was  selected  for  the  important  post  of  rector 
of  St.  Joseph's  Church  at  Dayton.  He  was 
chosen  to  succeed  Bishop  Rappe  as  Ordinary  of 
the  Diocese  of  Cleveland  on  the  resignation  of 
that  prelate ;  was  consecrated  by  Archbishop 
Purcell  on  April  4,  1872,  and  has  filled  that  em 
barrassing  position  with  zeal,  energy,  efficiency 
and  courage.  Those  who  had  conspired  for  the 
ruin  of  the  good  Bishop  Rappe  were  made  to  feel 
their  injustice  by  the  veneration  shown  by  the 
new  Bishop  for  his  memory  and  by  inaugurating 
a  movement  for  the  erection  of  a  monument  to 
the  honor  of  Cleveland's  first  Bishop.  Churches, 
schools  and  asylums  were  multiplied  on  every 
side,  and  his  zeal  and  courage  have  caused  Catho 
licity  to  be  respected.  He  is  a  champion  of 
Catholic  education.  He  resisted  in  the  courts 
and  defeated  the  attempts  of  the  sects  to  crush 
Catholic  schools  by  unjust  taxation.  He  is  the 
founder  of  the  Catliolic  Universe,  of  Cleveland. 
Bishop  Gilmour  is  also  a  champion  of  the  faith, 
an  eloquent  and  profound  preacher,  and  has  fre 
quently  been  called  upon  to  occupy  the  pulpit  on 
important  occasions  :  at  the  Third  Plenary  Coun 
cil  of  Baltimore,  1864,  and  at  the  opening  of  the 
American  Catholic  University  in  1889.  The 
Diocese  now  possesses  under  his  administration, 
in  addition  to  the  equipment  mentioned  in  the 
history  we  have  given  of  the  Diocese,  numerous 
pious  and  devout  societies  and  confraternities. 
Its  educational  work  is  admirable. 


*  * 


(59) 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN   AMBROSE  WATTERSON,  D.  D,f 


SECOND   BISHOP  OF  COLUMBUS. 


is  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
was  born  in  Indiana  county  on 
May  27,  1844.  From  a  very 
early  age  he  showed  evidences 
of  a  vocation  to  the  priesthood, 
and  was  studious  and  earnest. 
When  very  young  he  was  sent 
to  Mount  St.  Mary's  College,  Emmettsburgh,  and 
after  a  good  record  both  for  conduct  and  studies 
lie  graduated  in  1865.  The  priesthood  now 
became  the  object  of  his  aspirations,  and  he 
entered  the  theological  department  of  Mount  St. 
Mary's,  and  made  a  successful  course  of  sacred 
studies.  Returning  to  Pennsylvania  he  was 
ordained  a  priest  by  Bishop  Domenec,  of  Pitts 
burgh,  at  the  Abbey  of  St.  Vincent,  on  August  8, 
1868.  His  first  engagement  was  as  a  professor 
at  Mount  St.  Mary's  College,  having  previously 
obtained  the  consent  of  his  ordinary  to  return  to 
that  institution.  Such  were  his  services  and  his 
aptitude  for  collegiate  administration,  that  he 
was  chosen  in  1877  president  of  the  college, 
succeeding  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  M.  McCloskey. 
As  a  college  president  he  was  much  esteemed  by 
his  own  and  by  other  institutions,  and  on  June 
24,  1878,  he  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Divinity  from  Georgetown  College.  On  the 
death  of  Bishop  Rosecrans  in  1880,  Dr.  Watter- 
son  was  appointed  Second  Bishop  of  Columbus. 
The  sudden  death  of  the  late  Bishop  had  led  to 
some  financial  complications,  which  had  his  life 


been  prolonged  he  would  have  adjusted  ;  but  now 
before  receiving  consecration  the  Bishop  elect  was 
appealed  to  for  their  adjustment,  and  he  met  the 
call  with  good  management  and  judgment.  He 
was  consecrated  by  the  Right  Rev.  William 
Henry  Elder,  Co-adjutor  and  Administrator  of 
Cincinnati,  at  Columbus,  in  St.  Joseph's  Cathedral, 
August  8,  1880.  His  venerable  mother  attended 
his  consecration  and  reverently  received  the 
blessing  of  her  consecrated  son.  The  Diocese 
possessed  at  this  time  eighty-one  churches,  forty 
chapels  and  stations,  sixty-nine  priests,  one  male 
and  eight  female  religious  institutions,  two 
orphan  asylums,  five  female  academies,  twenty- 
six  parochial  schools,  one  hospital  and  fifty 
thousand  Catholics.  Education  was  a  favorite 
subject  of  zeal  and  labor  with  Bishop  Watterson  ; 
he  established  a  college  at  Columbus  and  had  it 
opened  in  1884,  and  schools  and  institutions 
sprang  up  under  his  energetic  administration. 
The  Diocese  now  possesses  ninety-four  churches, 
thirty-seven  chapels  and  stations,  sixty-seven 
secular  priests  and  ninety  regulars,  making  in 
all  eighty-six ;  thirteen  ecclesiastical  students, 
one  male  and  five  female  religious  institutions, 
two  orphan  asylums,  two  hospitals,  three  female 
academies,  thirty-seven  parochial  schools  with  an 
attendance  of  nearly  seven  thousand  five  hundred 
pupils,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  nearly  fifty- 
five  thousand.  The  Diocese  possesses  old  St. 
Joseph's  Dominican  Convent. 


(60) 


RIGHT  REV.  CAMILLUS   PAUL   MAES,  D.D., 


THIRD   BISHOP  OF  COVINGTON. 


IKE  the  Belgian  Priests  and  Bishops 
of  America  generally,  Bishop  Maes 
has  become  thoroughly  iden 
tified  with  our  country  and  with 
the  American  Church,  and 
deeply  interested  in  our  eccle 
siastical  history,  of  which  he 
has  become  an  ardent  student, 
and  has  published  works  of  deep  historical 
.  interest.  He  was  born  at  Courtrai,  in 
I  West  Flanders,  on  March  13,  1846.  At 
the  College  of  Courtrai  he  was  a  careful 
and  sedulous  student,  and  his  exemplary  conduct 
more  than  his  own  words  disclosed  his  vocation 
to  the  priesthood.  Having  graduated  and 
avowed  his  intention  of  becoming  a  priest,  he 
commenced  his  theological  studies  at  the  Semi 
nary  of  Bruges.  He  resolved  to  devote  himself 
to  the  American  missions  and  with  this  view  he 
entered  and  completed  his  sacred  studies  at  the 
American  College  of  Louvain.  He  was  ordaiued 
a  priest  on  December  18,  1868,  and  attached 
himself  to  the  Diocese  of  Detroit.  The  Diocese 
of  Detroit  found  in  him  a  zealous  priest ;  his  first 
mission  was  St.  Peter's  Church  at  Mount  Clemens, 
and  Monroe  next  became  his  field  of  labor ;  and 
in  both  places  he  labored  unsparingly.  At 
Monroe  he  was  pastor  of  St.  Mary's  Church  in 
1871,  and  in  1873  he  became  pastor  of  St.  John's  ; 
the  old  elements  of  Catholicity  in  this  place  were 
called  out  and  stimulated  by  his  zeal.  The 


history  of  the  Church  here  became  a  study  to 
him.  With  his  fine  training  and  studious  habits 
he  rescued  much  of  the  historical  materials  of 
the  vicinity  from  destruction,  and  since  he  be 
came  Bishop  of  Covington  has  issued  a  complete 
and  interesting  pamphlet  on  the  "  History  of  the 
Catholic  Church  in  Monroe  City  and  County." 
While  a  priest  of  the  Diocese  of  Detroit  he  pub 
lished  his  admirable  life  of  that  celebrated 
missionary,  Father  Charles  Neriuckx,  one  of  the 
most  important  contributions  to  our  ecclesiastical 
history.  Appreciating  his  worth  and  services 
Bishop  Borgess  of  Detroit  appointed  him  his 
secretary.  In  this  office  he  perfected  himself  in 
ecclesiastical  and  administrative  acquirements  ; 
he  rendered  valuable  services  to  the  Diocese  and 
the  Bishop,  organized  the  regular  collections  for 
the  Seminary,  and  assisted  in  improving  the  con 
dition  of  the  Diocese.  He  was  chosen  to  succeed 
Bishop  Toebbe  as  Bishop  of  Covington,  was  con 
secrated  at  the  Covington  Cathedral  by  Arch 
bishop  Elder  on  January  25,  1885,  and  by  his 
industry,  method,  and  administrative  ability  has 
increased  the  priests  of  the  Diocese  to  sixty 
priests,  forty-two  churches,  thirty-three  stations 
and  twenty-five  chapels,  twenty-five  theological 
students,  ten  academies,  thirty  parochial  schools, 
with  an  attendance  of  nearly  six  thousand  pupils, 
two  orphan  asylums,  and  a  Catholic  population 
of  about  forty  thousand.  Schools  and  asylums 
are  prominent  features  of  the  Diocese. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  S.  FOLEY,  D.D. 


SECOND   BISHOP  OF  DETROIT, 


jOHN  S.  FOLBY  is  the  youngest  son 
of  Matthew  Foley,  of  Baltimore,  his 
parents  having  come  from  County 
Wexford,  Ireland,  in  1821,  bringing 
several  children  with  them,  and  settled 
in  Baltimore.  His  brother,  Right 
Rev.  Thomas  Foley,  was  Bishop  of 
Chicago.  Right  Rev.  John  Foley  was 
born  at  Baltimore,  November  5,  1833, 
and  made  his  early  studies  there.  He 
entered  St.  Mary's  College  when  nine 
years  old,  and  graduated  on  July  13, 
1850;  following  his  brother's  example, 
embraced  the  priestly  vocation,  made 
his  ecclesiastical  stxtdies  at  St.  Mary's  Seminary, 
which  he  entered  on  August  16,  1850,  under  the 
Sulpitians  at  Baltimore,  and  concluded  them  at 
Rome,  where  he  was  ordained  by  Cardinal 
Patrizzi  on  November  20,  1856.  Returning 
home  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity,  he 
was  made  pastor  of  St.  Bridget's  Church,  Balti 
more,  next  at  Ellicott  City  for  six  years,  and  sub 
sequently  of  St.  Peter's  in  Baltimore.  His  next 
service  consisted  in  building  St.  Martin's  Church 
in  1867,  of  which  he  was  pastor,  when,  on  the 
resignation  of  Bishop  Borgess,  Dr.  Foley  was 
appointed  Second  Bishop  of  Detroit,  having  been 
recommended  for  that  position  by  Cardinal  Gib 
bons,  whose  friendship  he  enjoyed.  He  was  con 
secrated  by  Cardinal  Gibbons  at  Baltimore 
Cathedral  on  November  4,  1888,  with  great 


solemnity.  Fifty  prominent  citizens  of  Detroit 
came  to  the  consecration,  which  was  also  attended 
by  twenty-four  Archbishops  and  Bishops,  includ 
ing  Archbishop  O'Brien,  of  Halifax,  by  one 
hundred  visiting  priests,  of  whom  twenty-five 
were  from  the  Diocese  of  Detroit,  and  eighty 
clergymen  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Baltimore. 
Dr.  Foley  had  established  schools  during  his 
mission  in  Baltimore,  a  house  of  industry  and 
other  useful  works.  The  Sunday  after  his  con 
secration,  being  St.  Martin's  Day,  was  celebrated 
with  great  ceremony  at  St.  Martin's  Church, 
Baltimore, 'of  which  Dr.  Foley  had  been  pastor, 
and  here  he  performed  his  first  Episcopal  func 
tions  by  confirming  a  class  of  children  prepared 
for  the  sacrament  during  his  pastorate.  On  the 
same  day  he  pontificated  at  St.  Martin's.  Bishop 
Foley  was  received  and  installed  at  Detroit  with 
great  rejoicing.  He  took  an  active  part  in  pro 
moting  the  holding  of  the  Catholic  Lay  Congress 
at  Baltimore  in  November,  1889,  and  attended  the 
same.  The  Diocese  of  Detroit  now  possesses 
one  hundred  and  forty-five  priests,  one  hundred 
and  sixty-four  churches,  thirty  stations  and 
fifteen  chapels,  a  theological  seminary  with 
seventy-five  students,  one  college,  nine  academies, 
sixty-one  parochial  schools  with  over  thirteen 
thousand  children  attending  them,  five  orphan 
asylums  and  a  Catholic  population  of  one  hun 
dred  and  twenty-five  thousand.  The  Jesuit  Col 
lege  of  Detroit  is  an  important  work. 


(621 


RIGHT  REV.  JOSEPH  DWENGER,  D.D., 


SECOND   BISHOP  OF   FORT  WAYNE. 


[HE  French  records  at  Montreal 
and  Quebec  show  that  Cavalier 
de  la  Salle  visited  the  site  of 
Fort  Wayne  and  erected  a 
stockade  there  as  early  as  1680, 
on  his  way  from  the  St.  Joseph's 
of  Michigan  to  Fort  Frontenac; 
if  this  be  so  Fort  Wayne,  and 
not  Vincennes,  is  the  oldest 
settlement  in  Indiana.  Bishop  Dwenger  was 
born  at  St.  John's,  near  Minster, Ohio, in  1837;  his 
parents  were  from  Arkrum,  Hanover.  At  the 
age  of  three  years,  having  lost  his  father,  his 
mother  carried  him  to  Cincinnati  and  sent  him 
to  Holy  Trinity  School.  At  twelve  he  lost 
his  mother;  but  he  found  a  friend  in  Father 
Kunkler,  who  sent  him  for  instruction  to  the 
Fathers  of  the  Precious  Blood.  He  made  his 
ecclesiastical  studies  with  the  Fathers  of  the 
Precious  Blood  and  at  Mount  St.  Mary's  of  the 
West,  and  was  ordained  as  a  member  of  the 
Order  of  the  Precious  Blood  by  Archbishop 
Purcell  on  September  4,  1859.  For  three  years 
he  was  professor  and  director  at  the  Seminary  of 
the  Precious  Blood.  His  first  missionary  work 
was  at  Wapakoneta  and  at  St.  Mary's.  The 
Fathers  of  the  Precious  Blood  made  him  secretary 
and  consultor  of  the  order,  and  he  rendered 
services  at  the  Carthagena  Seminary.  As  a 
missionary  he  traversed  considerable  parts  of  the 
States  of  Ohio,  Kentucky  and  Indiana.  In  1872 
he  was  appointed  second  Bishop  of  Fort  Wayne, 


succeeding  Bishop  Luers,  and  was  consecrated 
by  Archbishop  Purcell  on  April  14,  1872  ;  he 
was  then  only  thirty-five  years  old  and  the 
youngest  American  Bishop.  The  great  Univer 
sity  of  Notre  Dame,  under  the  Fathers  of  the 
Holy  Cross,  and  St.  Mary's  Academy,  under  the 
Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross,  are  in  this  Diocese. 
At  the  time  of  his  consecration  in  1872  the 
Diocese  possessed  sixty-nine  priests,  seventy- 
seven  churches  and  seven  more  building,  and 
fourteen  chapels,  one  hospital,  one  college,  six 
religious  institutions,  an  orphan  asylum,  fourteen 
female  literary  institutions  and  fifty  thousand 
Catholics  ;  also  the  Poor  Hand-maids  of  Jesus 
Christ,  Brothers  of  the  Holy  Cross,  Sisters  of 
Providence  and  Sisters  of  the  Precious  Blood. 
The  great  work  of  Bishop  Dwenger  has  been 
the  Catholic  education  of  his  people,  and  for  this 
purpose  his  labors  have  been  directed  to  the 
erection  of  parochial  schools;  he  has  systema 
tized  the  entire  Catholic  school  interests  of  his 
Diocese,  has  organized  the  school  board  and  made 
it  an  important  factor ;  publishes  school  reports 
annually  and  secures  from  the  people  a  hearty 
support  of  the  Catholic  schools.  The  Diocese 
now  possesses  under  Bishop  Dwenger's  energetic 
administration  one  hundred  and  nineteen  priests, 
one  hundred  and  twenty-six  churches  and  nine 
teen  chapels,  twenty  seminaries,  one  university, 
seven  academies,  sixty  parochial  schools  with 
nearly  seven  thousand  five  hundred  pupils 
attending  them,  and  two  orphan  asylums. 


*  * 


(63) 


RIGHT  REV.  HENRY  JOSEPH  RICHTER,  D.D., 


FIRST   BISHOP  OF  GRAND   RAPIDS. 


;HE  Right  Rev.  Henry  Joseph 
Richter  is  one  of  the  many 
German  Bishops,  who  have 
done  so  much  in  the  West  and 
Northwest  to  advance  the  inter 
ests  of  the  Catholic  Church, 
and  who,  in  sections  where  the 
German  Catholic  element  prevails, 
have  organized  and  held  fast 
that  element  in  the  safe  embraces 
of  the  Church.  He  was  born  at 
Nenen  Kirchen,  Grand  Dnchy  of  Oldenbnrg,  on 
April  9,  1838.  His  earliest  education  was 
acquired  in  the  schools  of  his  native  town.  At 
the  age  of  fifteen,  in  1854,  he  came  to  the  United 
States,  and  became  a  pupil  of  St.  Paul's  school 
in  Cincinnati  in  1855.  Having  determined  to 
embrace  the  priestly  calling  he  continued  his 
studies  at  St.  Xavier  College,  Cincinnati,  at  the 
Seminary  of  Bardstown,  and  at  Mount  St. 
Mary's.  Desirous  of  making  his  preparation  for 
the  priesthood  as  complete  as  possible,  he  next 
went  to  Rome,  in  1860,  continued  his  studies  in. 
the  American  College,  graduating  in  1865,  an<^ 
was  ordained  a  priest  by  Cardinal  Patrizzi,  on 
June  10  of  that  year;  he  received  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Divinity.  He  was  made  Vice-President 
of  Mount  St.  Mary's  of  the  West,  on  his  return 
home,  and  successively  taught  philosophy,  dog 
matic  theology,  and  liturgy.  In  1870  he  com 
menced  missionary  work ;  he  organized  St. 
Lawrence's  parish  and  founded  its  church,  thus 
showing  equal  ability  in  college  and  on  the 


mission  ;  he  also  became  Superior  of  Mount  St. 
Vincent's  Academy  and  a  member  of  the  Dio 
cesan  Committee  of  Investigation.  In  whatever 
position  he  found  himself  placed  by  the  authori 
ties  of  the  Church  he  exerted  energy,  zeal  and 
ability.  Pope  Leo  XIII.  created  the  Diocese  of 
Grand  Rapids  in  Michigan,  May  19,  1882,  and 
by  the  recommendation  of  the  Bishops  Right 
Rev.  Henry  Joseph  Richter  was  appointed  its  first 
Bishop  and  was  consecrated  by  the  Right  Rev. 
William  Henry  Elder,  then  Co-adjutor  and 
Administrator  of  Cincinnati,  on  April  22,  1883, 
in  St.  Andrew's  Church  in  Grand  Rapids,  his 
Cathedral,  and  immediately  went  to  work  in 
organizing  and  building  up  the  new  Diocese, 
which  already  possessed  Franciscan  Fathers  in 
charge  of  the  Indian  mission  at  Cross  Village, 
and  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  of  Notre  Dame,  of  the 
Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary,  of  Providence  and 
Sisters  of  St.  Francis  and  St.  Dominic.  There 
were  also  an  asylum,  two  hospitals,  thirty-three 
churches  and  a  number  of  stations  visited,  thirty- 
three  priests,  seventeen  parochial  schools  with 
nearly  three  thousand  pupils,  and  between  forty 
and  fifty  thousand  Catholics.  Now  it  possesses 
sixty-nine  priests,  of  whom  ten  are  regulars,  one 
hundred  and  nine  churches,  fifty-eight  stations 
and  ten  chapels,  thirty-six  seminaries,  thirty- 
eight  parochial  schools  with  nearly  seven  thou 
sand  five  hundred  children  attending,  two  orphan 
asylums,  and  nearly  fifteen  thousand  Catholic 
families,  and  is  well  organized  as  required  by  the 
last  Plenary  of  Baltimore. 


(64) 


IN  MANU  DEI   SUNT 


RIGHT  REV.  WILLIAM  GEORGE  MCCLOSKEY,  D.  D., 


FOURTH   BISHOP   OF   LOUISVILLE. 


.  McCLOSKEY 
is  the  ruler  of  a 
Diocese  which 
w  a  s  sanctified 
by  the  labors 
and  virtues  of 
such  saintly  pre 
lates  as  Bishops 

Da" 


to  a  t  a  in  1  1  y 
which  has  given  several  members  to  the  altars 
of  the  Church.  He  is  a  native  of  the  city  of 
Brooklyn,  New  York,  where  he  was  born  on  No 
vember  10,  1823.  At  an  early  age  he  became  a 
student  of  Mount  St.  Mary's  College,  Emmetts- 
burgh,  the  mother  of  Bishops,  and  having  ac 
cepted  the  inward  call  to  the  priesthood,  he  im 
mediately  entered  the  seminary  there  and  made 
a  successful  course  of  theology.  He  was  or 
dained  in  old  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral  at  New 
York  on  October  6,  1852.  His  brother,  Father 
George  McCloskey,  being  then  pastor  of  the 
Church  of  the  Nativity,  he  became  an  assistant 
priest  of  the  parish  for  one  year.  He  was  now 
recalled  to  his  alma  mater  as  a  professor,  and  in 
1857  he  became  director  of  the  seminary  and 
Professor  of  Moral  Theology  and  Sacred  Scrip 
ture.  In  the  meantime  Pope  Pius  IX.  had 
founded  the  American  College  at  Rome,  and  as 
Dr.  McCloskey  was  the  choice  of  the  American 
Bishops,  he  was  appointed  by  the  Holy  Father 
to  be  the  first  president  of  that  institution,  in 
December,  1859.  This  noble  college  flourished 


under  his  able  administration.  In  1865  Dr.  Mc 
Closkey  visited  nearly  all  the  Bishops  in  the 
United  States  and  enlisted  their  interest  and  sup 
port  for  the  American  College  of  Rome.  He 
was  received  by  all  the  prelates  with  the  warmest 
sympathy,  and  his  appeals  secured  the  perma 
nent  success  of  the  college.  He  also  represented 
its  interests  at  the  Second  Plenary  Council  of 
Baltimore  in  1866.  The  See  of  Louisville,  Ken 
tucky,  having  become  vacant  by  the  death  of 
Bishop  Lavialle,  Dr.  McCloskey  was  appointed 
by  the  Holy  Father  to  succeed  him.  He  was 
consecrated  on  May  24,  1868,  and  lost  no  time  in 
assuming  the  arduous  duties  of  the  episcopate. 
Desiring  to  establish  and  maintain  ecclesiastical 
discipline  and  order  for  the  sake  of  promoting 
the  dignity  and  sanctity  of  the  priesthood,  dis 
contents  arose  and  appeals  to  Rome  were  taken, 
but  all  the  feeling  arising  therefrom  passed  away, 
and  the  Diocese  which  a  Flaget  had  edified  is 
prosperous  and  united.  When  Dr.  McCloskey 
went  to  Louisville  in  1868  the  Diocese  had 
eighty-four  priests,  seventy-five  churches,  five 
male  and  six  female  religious  houses,  fourteen 
female  academies,  twenty-five  parochial  schools 
and  eighty  thousand  Catholics.  Now  the  num 
bers  are  increased  to  one  hundred  and  thirty-two 
priests,  one  hundred  and  twenty  churches, 
ninety-two  stations,  twenty-two  chapels,  five 
theological  seminaries,  three  colleges,  twenty-five 
academies,  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  parochial 
schools,  with  an  attendance  of  ten  thousand 
children,  three  orphan  asylums  and  a  Catholic 
population  of  a  hundred  and  thirty-five  thousand. 


(65) 


RIGHT  REV.  JOSEPH  RADEMACHER,  D.D., 


FOURTH   BISHOP  OF   NASHVILLE. 


ISHOP  RADEMACH 
ER  was  called  upon  to 
continue  the  active  and 
successful  works  of 
Bishop  Feehan  in  Ten 
nessee,  and  has  bravely 
met  the  duties  and  la 
bors  of  his  position.  He 
is  a  native  of  West 
phalia,  Michigan,  where  he  was  born  on  Decem 
ber  3,  1840,  and  disclosed  from  an  early  age  evi 
dences  of  a  devout  soul  and  an  active  mind. 
Having  been  sent  to  the  Benedictine  College  of 
St.  Vincent,  near  St.  Vincent's  Abbey,  in  West 
moreland  county,  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania, 
he  made  a  successful  classical  course,  and,  em 
bracing  the  vocation  to  the  priesthood,  he  made 
his  ecclesiastical  studies  at  the  Theological  Sem 
inary  of  St.  Michael  at  Pittsburgh,  and  was  re 
markable  there  also  for  earnest  application  and 
edifying  devotion.  He  received  ordination  in  the 
priesthood  from  the  hands  of  Right  Rev.  John 
Henry  Luers,  of  Fort  Wayne,  to  whose  Diocese 
he  became  attached,  and  was  immediately  as 
signed  to  missionary  duty  at  the  congregation  at 
Attica,  in  the  State  of  Indiana,  and  having  other 
missions  to  attend,  he  spent  six  years  in  active 
and  devoted  missionary  work,  greatly  to  the  satis 
faction  of  his  Bishop.  At  Columbia  City  he 
served  faithfully  the  Church  of  St.  Paul  as  its 


pastor,  and  after  eight  years  of  faithful  service 
there  Bishop  Dwenger  selected  him  for  pastor  of 
the  important  Church  of  St.  Mary  Mother  of 
God,  at  Fort  Wayne.  This  was  the  most  im 
portant  and  difficult  position  he  had  held,  and  in 
the  midst  of  embarrassments  he  succeeded  ad 
mirably  in  his  pastoral  administration.  He 
showed  such  capacity  for  business  that  he  was 
also  appointed  Chancellor  of  the  Diocese  of  Fort 
Wayne,  a  duty  which  was  interrupted  by  his  ap 
pointment  to  the  second  and  most  important  pas 
toral  charge  in  the  Diocese,  that  of  the  Church 
of  St.  Mary  at  Lafayette,  second  only  to  the 
Cathedral.  In  1883  he  was  called  to  the  episco 
pal  office,  was  appointed  Bishop  of  Nashville, 
and  was  consecrated  by  his  predecessor,  Dr.  Fee 
han,  on  June  24,  1883.  So  good  and  sedulous  a 
pastor  has  proved  himself  a  good  Bishop.  The 
Diocese  has  the  priests  of  the  Precious  Blood,  of 
St.  Dominic  and  St.  Francis,  and  the  Domini 
can  Sisters,  Precious  Blood  Sisters,  Sisters  of 
Mercy,  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  Ursulines  and 
Sisters  of  Charity.  It  has  now,  in  1890,  twenty- 
eight  priests,  of  whom  thirteen  are  regulars ; 
thirty-seven  churches,  forty  stations  and  ten 
chapels,  seven  theological  students,  one  college, 
five  academies,  sixteen  parochial  schools,  one 
hospital,  two  orphan  asylums  and  a  Catholic 
population  of  about  eighteen  thousand.  At 
Memphis  there  is  a  school  for  colored  children. 


(66) 


RIGHT  REV.  FRANCIS  SILAS  CHATARD,  D.D., 


FIFTH    BISHOP    OF   VINCENNES. 


'ALLED  upon  to  govern  the 
Diocese  which  a  saintly  Brute 
had  organized  and  which  had 
been  conducted  by  the  labori 
ous  administrations  of  Bishops 
Hailandiere  and  Saint  Palais, 
Dr.  Chatard  has  brought  to 
his  labors  many  of  the  virtues 
of  his  predecessors.  Descended  from  a 
French  family,  fugitives  from  the  negro 
massacre  at  San  Domingo,  he  was  born 
at  Baltimore,  on  December  13,  1834.  His  grand 
father  and  father  had  been  eminent  physicians, 
and  Francis  Silas  accepted  the  profession  which 
had  become  traditional  in  his  family.  He  made 
his  classical  studies  at  Mount  St.  Mary's  and  was 
graduated  with  honor  in  June,  1853.  He 
abandoned  the  profession  of  medicine  for  the 
altar  in  1857,  an^  was  sent  by  Archbishop 
Francis  P.  Kendrick  to  the  Urban  College  at 
Rome,  where  he  made  a  full  and  successful 
course,  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity 
and  was  ordained  in  August,  1863.  He  was 
soon  afterwards  appointed  Vice-Rector  of  the 
American  College  at  Rome,  and  when  the 
Rector,  Dr.  McCloskey,  was  appointed  Bishop  of 
Louisville,  Dr.  Chatard  was  selected  for  his 
successor.  In  this  prominent  and  important 
office  he  was  distinguished  by  the  energy  and 
wisdom  of  his  administration,  and  while  the 
students  of  the  college  gratefully  acknowledged 
his  worth,  and  the  Holy  Father  appreciated  his 


labors,  the  American  Bishops  at  home  received 
man}'  services  at  his  hands.  Many  of  our 
Bishops  at  the  Vatican  Council  felt  indebted  to 
him  for  important  attentions,  and  Pope  Pius  IX. 
only  gave  expression  to  the  universal  sentiment 
when  he  presented  to  him  an  elegant  gold  medal 
as  a  mark  of  his  admiration  and  friendship.  His 
sedulous  labors  impaired  his  health  ;  as  a  relief 
and  change  of  air,  he  visited  his  native  country 
in  1878,  but  employed  his  time  in  obtaining  con 
tributions  to  the  American  College  at  Rome. 
Returning  to  Rome  with  restored  health,  and 
with  substantial  aid  for  his  college,  he  ardently 
resumed  his  labors  there.  The  See  of  Vincennes 
became  vacant,  in  1877,  by  the  death  of  Bishop 
de  Saint  Palais,  and  Dr.  Chatard  was  appointed 
to  succeed  him.  He  was  consecrated  on  May  12, 
1878.  He  has  made  an  active  and  good  Bishop 
of  Vincennes ;  he  resides  at  Indianapolis,  at  St. 
John's  Church.  While  fostering  the  former  foun 
dations  of  the  Diocese  he  is  adding  to  the  works 
of  the  Church.  The  Diocese  possesses  the 
Dominican  and  Franciscan  Fathers  and  numerous 
Sisterhoods.  It  now  contains,  in  1890,  one  hun 
dred  and  fourteen  priests,  of  whom  thirty-eight 
are  regulars,  one  hundred  and  fifty-seven 
churches,  sixteen  chapels  and  twelve  stations, 
thirteen  thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty  children 
attending  Catholic  schools,  thirty  clerical 
students  and  a  Catholic  population  of  about 
eighty-six  thousand  two  hundred,  and  St.  Mein- 
rad's,  headquarters  of  the  Benedictines. 


*  * 


St.  John's  Cathedral,  Milwaukee,  Wis. 

CHAPTER   VIII. 
PROVINCE  OF  MILWAUKEE. 

History  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Milwaukee,  and  of  the  Suffragan  Dioceses  of  Green  Bay,  La  Crosse,  Marquette  and  Sault  St.  Marie. 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  MILWAUKEE. 


HE  growth  in  the  Northwest 
was  so  great  in  Catholic  popu 
lation,  especially  in  German 
Catholics,  that  a  new  See  be 
came  necessary  and  so  it  was 
decreed  in  1843.  The  new 
See  was  located  at  Milwaukee, 
and  Right  Rev.  John  Martin 
Henni  was  appointed  its  first 
Bishop ;  he  was  consecrated  at  Cincinnati  by 
Bishop  Pnrcell  on  March  19,  1844.  Starting  for 

(68) 


his  See  on  April  19,  the  Bishop  arrived  at  Mil 
waukee  on  May  3,  and  was  accompanied  by  the 
Rev.  Michael  Heiss,  who  became  his  successor. 
The  Diocese  embraced  the  Territories  of 
'Wisconsin  and  Minnesota,  now  the  seat  of  two 
Metropolitan  Provinces,  and  contained  five 
priests,  as  many  frame  chapels  and  about  eight 
thousand  Catholics.  The  work  was  all  mission 
ary  work  for  Bishop  and  priests ;  visitations  of 
the  Bishop  were  long  and  arduous,  and  resulted 
organizing  small  congregations  in  many 


in 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  MILWAUKEE. 


69 


places.  The  Cathedral  of  St.  John  was  com 
menced  in  1847,  but  the  pressing  necessity  for 
an  orphan  asylum  caused  the  suspension  of  the 
work  on  the  church  for  the  asylum.  Religious 
communities  were  introduced  and  first  of  all 
the  Schools  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame.  Next  came 
the  Dominican  Fathers,  who  opened  their  college 
at  Sinsinawa ;  the  Franciscan  Brothers  and 
Sisters  came  and  went  bravely  to  work,  and  the 
Dominican  Sisters  opened  a  house  at  Benton ; 
and  the  Capuchins  were  organized  and  have  to 
this  day  continued  their  good  work.  The  visits 
of  Bishop  Henni  to  Europe  secured  most  impor 
tant  aid  for  his  vast  Diocese.  The  Diocese  was 
ably  represented  at  the  Councils  of  Baltimore  by 
Bishop  Henni,  who  in  the  second  Plenary 
Council  of  1866  secured  the  division  of  his 
Diocese  by  the  erection  of  the  See  of  La  Crosse 
and  Green  Bay.  Schools,  academies  and  asylums 
were  multiplied,  and  in  1877  St.  Vincent's  Infant 
Asylum  was  founded  and  placed  in  charge  of  the 
Sisters  of  Charity.  St.  Mary's  Asylum  at  Elm 
Grove  owes  its  foundation  to  Louis  I.,  King  of 
Bavaria,  in  1859.  The  Cathedral  was  dedicated 
on  July  21,  1853;  the  services  were  conducted  by 
Archbishop  Bedini,  the  Pope's  Ab-Legate,  and 
the  sermon  was  preached  by  Archbishop  Hughes. 
The  action  of  Bishop  Henni  in  the  case  of  the 
unfortunate  ex-monk  Leahy,  who  had  been  a 
slanderer  of  the  Church  and  was  uow  serving 
out  a  life-imprisonment  for  the  murder  of  his 
wife's  paramour  in  the  State  prison  at  Fond-du- 


Lac,  was  truly  representative  of  Catholic  charity  ; 
after  well  testing  the  sincerity  of  Leahy  the 
Archbishop  received  the  recantation  of  his 
calumnies  and  the  evidence  of  his  repentance  for 
his  crimes  and  admitted  him  the  sacraments. 
Milwaukee  became  to  a  great  extent  a  Catholic 
city,  and  in  the  vast  field  of  Wisconsin  and 
Minnesota  the  foundations  of  future  Episcopal 
Sees  were  laid,  and  St.  Paul,  now  a  Metropolitan 
city,  was  greatly  the  result  of  Catholic  energy 
and  growth.  In  1875  Milwaukee  was  raised  to 
the  dignity  of  a  Metropolitan  See  and  Bishop 
Henni  became  an  Archbishop,  with  the  Bishops 
of  Green  Bay,  La  Crosse,  Marquette,  Sault  Ste. 
Marie,  St.  Paul  and  of  the  Vicariate  of  Northern 
Minnesota  and  Dakota  as  suffragans.  The 
pallium  was  conferred  on  Archbishop  Henni  at 
the  Cathedral  of  St.  John  by  Bishop  Heiss,  in 
July,  1875.  The  pallium  had  been  brought  from 
Pius  IX.,  by  Monsignor  Roncetti,  on  the 
occasion  of  the  elevation  of  Archbishop  Mc- 
Closkey  to  the  Cardinalate.  Archbishop  Henni 
died  on  September  7, 1881,  and  was  succeeded  by 
Archbishop  Heiss,  who  had  already,  and  ever 
since  March  14,  1880,  been  his  Co-adjutor  under 
the  title  of  Archbishop  of  Adrianapolis.  For 
nine  years  the  Archdiocese  of  Milwaukee  has 
been  ably  administered  by  Archbishop  Heiss. 
He  died  at  La  Crosse,  Wisconsin,  on  March  26, 
1890.  His  successor,  Dr.  Katzer,  of  Green  Bay, 
Wisconsin,  an  equally  able  divine,  was  conse 
crated  in  1891. 


ARCHDIOCESE   OF   MILWAUKEE. 


DIOCESE  OF  MARQUETTE  AND  SAULT  STE.  MARIE. 


THE    Vicariate    Apostolic    of    the    Northern 
Peninsula  of  Michigan  was  erected  by  the  Holy 


Right  Rev.   Ignatius  Mrak. 

See  in  1853,  and  that  apostolic  man,  Right  Rev. 
Frederic  Baraga,  was  appointed  Vicar  Apostolic ; 
he  had  already  sanctified  that  region  by  his 
labors  and  virtues ;  he  was  consecrated  under  the 
title  of  Bishop  of  Amysonia  on  November  i, 
1853,  and  the  Vicariate  then  possessed  six 
churches,  five  priests,  and  five  schools.  The 
jurisdiction  of  Dr.  Baraga  was  increased  by  the 
transfer  to  him  of  five  counties  in  the  Southern 
Peninsula  by  Bishop  Lefevre,  of  Detroit,  of  the 
Apostle  Islands  by  Bishop  Henni,  of  Milwaukee, 
and  a  like  transfer  was  made  by  Dr.  Loras, 
Bishop  of  Dubuque ;  Bishop  Baraga  thus  had 
sixteen  priests,  fourteen  churches,  and  six  thou 
sand  Catholics,  embracing  a  considerable  number 
of  Catholic  Indians.  On  January  9,  1857,  the 
Holy  See  transformed  the  Vicariate  into  the  Dio 
cese  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  and  Dr.  Baraga  became 
Bishop  of  the  new  See.  St.  Mary's  was  the 
Cathedral  at  the  Sault.  On  October  15,  1865, 
Marquette  was  made  the  Episcopal  city  instead 
of  the  Sault.  Bishop  Baraga  became  Bishop  of 
Marquette,  and  St.  Peter's  became  the  Cathedral. 
From  1866  to  1868  Bishop  Baraga  suffered  from 
paralysis,  and  died  as  he  had  lived,  at  his  post, 


on  January  16,  1868.  On  his  death  the  above 
ceded  territories  reverted  to  their  respective  Dio 
ceses.  Right  Rev.  Ignatius  Mrak  was  appointed 
Bishop  of  Marquette,  and  was  consecrated  by 
Archbishop  Purcell,  at  Cincinnati,  on  February 
7,  1869,  and,  on  taking  possession  of  the  Diocese, 
found  twenty-one  churches,  fifteen  priests,  and 
twenty-two  thousand  Catholics.  In  consequence 
of  his  ill-health  he  resigned  in  1878;  in  1881  he 
received  the  title  of  Bishop  of  Antinoe;  resided 
at  Marquette  until  1884,  when  he  removed  to 
Eagle  Town.  Right  Rev.  John  Ventin  be 
came  third  Bishop  of  Marquette  in  September, 
1879,  when  the  Diocese  possessed  twenty-seven 
churches,  twenty  priests,  five  female  religious 
houses,  three  charitable  institutions,  and  three 
academies. 

The  Diocese  has  been  thoroughly  organized 
under  the  plan  presented  by  the  Third  Plenary 
Council  of  Baltimore,  with  council,  secretary, 
procurator  fiscalis,  moderator  for  matrimonial 
cases,  notary,  examiners  of  the  clergy  and 
school  board.  There  is  also  an  organized  fund 


St.  Peter's  Cathedral,  Marquette. 

for  the  support  of  infirm  priests.     The  statistics 
of  the  Diocese  show  a  rapid  and  solid  progress. 


DIOCESES  OF  LA  CROSSE  AND  GREEN  BAY. 


DIOCESE  OF  LA  CROSSE. 


THE  Holy  See  erected  the  Diocese  of  La  Crosse 
in  1868 ;  it  comprises  all  that  part  of  the  State 
of  Wisconsin  which  lies  north  and  west  of  the 
Wisconsin  River,  and  formed  before  this  part  of 
the  Diocese  of  Milwaukee.  Right  Rev.  Michael 
Heiss,  then  President  of  the  Salesianum  at  Mil 
waukee,  was  appointed  its  first  Bishop,  who  was 
consecrated  on  September  6,  1868.  The  Diocese 
at  this  time  possessed  forty-seven  churches  and 
fifty-two  stations,  fifteen  priests  and  three  clerical 
students  in  the  Salesianum.  One  of  the  first 
acts  of  the  new  Bishop  was  to  bring  on  the  Fran 
ciscan  Sisters,  and  place  them  in  charge  of  the 
parish  school  of  St.  Joseph's  parish  in  La  Crosse. 
Such  was  the  rapid  progress  of  this  order  that 
now  they  have  charge  of  twenty-seven  parochial 
schools  in  this  Diocese,  and  forty-two  in  all,  two 
hospitals,  and  an  asylum ;  their  mother-house  is 
Saint  Rose  de  Viterbo,  at  La  Crosse.  The 
Jesuits  have  also  entered  the  Diocese,  and  founded 
their  Novitiate  and  Scholasticate  at  Prairie  du 
Chien,  and  give  missions  on  application.  Also 
the  Franciscan  Fathers  have  come,  and  have 
located  at  Superior  City.  The  Diocese  also  then 
received  the  School  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  the 
Sisters  of  the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis,  the 
Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  and  the  Poor  Handmaids 
of  Christ.  St.  John's  College,  at  Prairie  du 
Chien,  was  opened  by  the  Christian  Brothers. 
On  March  18,  1880,  the  Bishop  was  called  to 
Milwaukee,  to  become  Co-adjutor  to  Archbishop 
Heimi,  and  Right  Rev.  Kiliau  C.  Flasch  was 


St.  Joseph's  Cathedral,  La  Crosse,  Wisconsin. 

appointed  second  Bishop  of  La  Crosse.  At  this 
time  the  Diocese  possessed  fifty  priests,  ninety- 
six  churches,  five  chapels,  twenty-five  stations, 
four  institutions,  twenty-two  parochial  schools, 
and  nearly  fifty  thousand  Catholics. 


DIOCESE  OF  GREEN  BAY. 


THE  See  of  Green  Bay  was  erected  by  the  Holy 
See  in  1868,  comprising  that  part  of  the  State  of 
Wisconsin  which  is  situated  north  of  Fox  and 
Manitowoc  Rivers  and  east  of  Wisconsin  River. 
Rev.  Joseph  Melcher  was  appointed  first  Bishop ; 
he  was  consecrated  by  Archbishop  Peter  Richard 
Kenrick  on  July  12,  1868,  at  his  own  former 
Church  of  St.  Mary,  at  St.  Louis.  The  clerical 
force  of  the  Diocese  consisted  of  sixteen  priests, 
and  the  Catholic  population  numbered  over  fifty 
thousand,  and  were  of  many  nationalities.  The 


Sister  Levistes  of  Mary  and  the  Franciscan  and 
Dominican  Sisters  were  introduced,  and  the 
Schools  of  the  School  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame  in 
creased.  A  fine  Episcopal  residence  was  erected 
and  preparations  made  for  commencing  a  cathe 
dral,  for  which  purpose  St.  Mary's  German 
Church  then  served.  Bishop  Melcher  died  on 
December  20,  1873,  leaving  fifty-six  priests,  six 
teen  clerical  students,  ninety  churches  and 
chapels,  two  thousand  children  attending  Catholic 
schools,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  sixty 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  MILWAUKEE. 


Krautbauer,  who  was  consecrated  at  St.  John's 
Cathedral,  Milwaukee,  by  Archbishop  Henni  on 
June  29,  1875.  The  new  Cathedral  of  St. 
Francis  Xavier  was  commenced  iu  1876 ;  the 
corner-stone  was  laid  on  October  2  ;  on  Novem 
ber  1 6,  1879,  divine  service  was  held  in  it,  and  it 
was  finished  and  consecrated  on  November  21, 
1 88 1.  The  Ursuline  Academy  was  established 
in  1877,  and  the  asylum  was  soon  also  founded 
and  opened,  and  a  Belgian  Asylum  in  Brown 
county.  The  Sisterhood  House  of  Notre  Dame 
was  erected  in  1883.  In  1884  Bishop  Kraut 
bauer  represented  the  Diocese  in  the  Third 
Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore.  He  died  on 
December  17,  1885.  The  Diocese  next  received 
for  its  Bishop  the  former  Vicar-General,  Right 
Rev.  Francis  Xavier  Katzer.  The  last  work  of 

St.  Francis  Xavier's  Cathedral,  Green  Bay,  Wis.  Bishop      Krautbauer     was     to    assist    his     Vicar- 

General  in  erecting  the  fine  Catholic  school- 
thousand.  In  1875  the  Diocese  of  Green  Bay  house.  The  Diocese  has  been  organized  agree- 
received  as  its  Bishop  Right  Rev.  Francis  Xavier  ably  to  the  decrees  of  the  last  Plenary  Council. 


COPYRIGHTED    1889    BY  OEBBT.E   &CO 


MOST  REV.  FREDERICK  XAVISM  KATZER.D.D. 


MOST  REV.   MICHAEL  HEISS,  D.D., 


FIRST   BISHOP  OF    LA  CROSSE  AND  SECOND  ARCHBISHOP  OF  MILWAUKEE. 


years 


vRCHBISHOP  HEISS 
is   a   representative 
Western    and   Ger 
man    Bishop,    both 
by  his  energy  and 
practical  j  ndgment, 
and   by   his    labors 
and    methods.     He 
was  born  at  Pfahl- 
dorf,  in  Bavaria,  on 
April  12,  1818.    He 
the   study  of   Latin  at   nine 
of  age   in   the   local    schools, 
entered  the  Gymnasium  at  Newburg 
a  good  scholar,  and  was   honorably  graduated 
there  in  1835,  at  seventeen.     His  first  choice  of 
a  profession  was  the  law,  but  like  another  Ligouri 
he  abandoned  it  for  the  priesthood.     He  made 
his   theological    studies    at   the    University   of 
Munich,  and  there  he  enjoyed  the  instructions 
of    such   professors   as    Goesses,    Moehler    and 
Dollinger.     He  continued  h;.s  sacred  studies  at 
Eichstadt    Seminary,   and    received    ordination 
from  the  hands  of  the  distinguished  Cardinal 
Reisach,  on  October  18,  1840.     He  abandoned 
a  curacy  in  his  native  country  to  devote  himself 
to  the  American  Mission,  and  his  first   labors 
here  were  at  the  Church  of  the  Mother  of  God 
at  Covington,  Kentucky.    He  was  a  warm  friend 
of  Dr.  Henni,  and  accompanied  that  prelate  to 
the  new  See  of  Milwaukee  in  1844,  became  his 
secretary,  and  performed  active  missionary  work 
in  a  large  district  extending  fifty  miles  north  of 
Milwaukee.     St.  Mary's  Church  in   Milwaukee 
was  established  by  him  in  1846,  and  after  spend 
ing  two  years  in  Europe  to  recruit  his  injured 
health,  he  became  the  Rector  of  the  Salesianum. 
He  also  published  several  fine  theological  works. 
At  the  first  division  of  the  Diocese,  by  the  erec 


tion  of  the  See  of  La  Crosse,  he  was  chosen  its 
first  Bishop,  and  was  consecrated  on  September 
6,  1868.  Though  a  new  Diocese,  that  part  of 
Wisconsin  which  it  embraced  had  been  visited 
by  the  French  missionaries  a  hundred  and  fifty 
years  before,  and  the  old  French  town  of  Prairie 
du  Chien  was  within  it.  The  Diocese  then  pos 
sessed  forty  churches  and  fifteen  priests,  being 
nearly  three  altars '  for  each  priest  to  attend. 
Bishop  Heiss  introduced  the  Franciscan  Sisters, 
the  Christian  Brothers  and  the  School  Sisters  of 
Notre  Dame.  Such  was  the  growth  of  the 
Church  and  her  institutions  under  his  energetic 
administration,  that,  in  1880,  when  he  went  to 
Milwaukee  to  become  the  Co-adjiitor  of  Arch 
bishop  Henni,  the  Diocese  of  La  Crosse  possessed 
fifty  priests  and  one  hundred  and  twenty-six 
churches,  chapels  and  stations.  After  adminis 
tering  the  Archdiocese  as  Co-adjutor  for  eighteen 
mouths  he  became  Archbishop  of.  Milwaukee  on 
the  death  of  Dr.  Henni,  on  September  7,  1881. 
In  the  Councils  of  St.  Louis  and  Baltimore  he 
was  a  useful  prelate,  and  he  was  appointed  by 
Pius  IX.  a  member  of  one  of  the  great  commis 
sions  in  the  Vatican  Council.  Under  his  ad 
ministration  the  Archdiocese  of  Milwaukee  now 
contains  two  hundred  and  thirty-one  priests,  of 
whom  thirty-five  are  regulars,  two  hundred  and 
sixty-nine  churches,  one  theological  seminary, 
four  colleges,  one  normal  school,  three  hospitals, 
one  deaf-mute  institute,  seven  academies,  one 
hundred  and  thirty-six  parochial  schools  with 
twenty  thousand  pupils,  four  orphan  asylums, 
and  a  Catholic  population  of  one  hundred  and 
eighty  thousand.  Since  the  above  went  to  press 
the  wires  have  announced  the  death  of  Arch 
bishop  Heiss.  His  successor  has  not  been  ap 
pointed.  See  his  death  noticed  in  the  "Arch 
diocese  of  Milwaukee." 

(73) 


RIGHT  REV.  FREDERICK  KATZER,  D.  D. 


THIRD   BISHOP   OF   GREEN   BAY. 


CAVING  been  intimately  associated 
with  the  Right  Rev.  Francis 
Xavier  Krautbaner,  late  Bishop 
of  Green  Bay,  in  the  manage 
ment  and  administration  of  the 
affairs  of  that  Diocese,  Bishop 
Katzer,  on  succeeding  to  the  See, 
brought  to  his  high  office  great  experience,  de 
tailed  local  knowledge  and  fine  ecclesiastical 
training.  The  Diocese  of  Green  Bay,  owing  to 
the  many  varied  nationalities  the  Catholic  body 
contains,  has  been  aptly  called  the  "  Polyglot 
Diocese,"  and  Bishops  Melcher,  Krautbauer  and 
Katzer  have  exercised  great  skill  in  governing 
it  successfully  and  peacefully.  Right  Rev. 
Frederick  Katzer  was  born  on  February  7,  1844, 
at  Ebensee,  in  the  Diocese  of  Linz,  in  Austria. 
After  receiving  solid  elementary  instruction  in 
the  local  schools  of  his  native  town,  he  made  his 
classical  and  philosophical  course  of  studies  in 
the  celebrated  Gymnasium  conducted  by  the 
Jesuit  Fathers  on  the  Freienberg,  near  Liuz. 
He  decided  to  embrace  the  priestly  vocation 
when  quite  young,  and  also  dedicated  himself  to 
the  American  Missions,  and  with  this  view  he 
came  to  America,  arriving  at  Milwaukee  on  May 
19,  1864.  He  entered  the  Salesianum,  at  Mil 
waukee,  which  is  the  Diocesan  Seminary,  named 
in  honor  of  St.  Francis  de  Sales,  where  he  com 
pleted  his  theological  studies,  and  by  his  direct 


ness  of  purpose,  sedulous  application  to  study 
and  his  good  example,  he  won  the  confidence  of 
all  who  witnessed  his  career.  He  was  ordained 
at  Milwaukee,  for  that  Diocese,  on  December  21, 
1866.  Having  been  appointed  one  of  the  faculty 
of  the  Salesianum,  he  continued  to  serve  with 
ability  that  institution  for  nine  years,  in  various 
capacities,  first  as  professor  of  mathematics,  then 
of  philosophy,  and  finally  of  dogmatic  theology. 
In  1875,  when  Bishop  Krautbauer  succeeded 
Bishop  Melcher  as  Bishop  of  Green  Bay,  he 
appointed  Father  Katzer  his  secretary,  much  to 
the  regret  of  the  students  of  the  Salesianum. 
In  1878  he  was  appointed  Vicar-General  of  the 
Diocese.  In  these  offices  he  rendered  invalua 
ble  services  to  his  Bishop  and  to  the  Diocese. 
When  Bishop  Krautbauer  died,  in  December, 
1885,  Father  Katzer  was  appointed  admin 
istrator  of  the  Diocese  by  the  express  wish 
of  the  dying  Bishop,  and  on  May  30,  1886,  he 
was  appointed  Third  Bishop  of  Green  Bay.  He 
was  consecrated  in  the  Cathedral  of  Green  Bay, 
on  September  21,  1886.  The  Diocese  now  pos 
sesses  one  hundred  and  eight  priests,  one  hun 
dred  and  sixty-seven  churches,  eleven  stations 
and  twenty-four  chapels,  nine  theological  students, 
seventy  parochial  schools  with  an  attendance  of 
nearly  ten  thousand  five  hundred  pupils,  three 
orphan  asylums  and  a  Catholic  population  of  one 
hundred  thousand. 


(74) 


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RIGHT  REV.  KILIAN  C.  FLASCH,  D.D., 


SECOND    BISHOP   OF  LA    CROSSE. 


ISHOP  FLASCH  is  by 
birth  a  Bavarian,  and 
was  born  at  Retzotadt, 
a  small  village  in  the 
Diocese  of  Wiinzburg, 
on  July  16,  1831. 
While  assisting  his 
father  on  his  farm,  his 
love  of  learning  was 
so  great  as  a  boy  that  he  sought  and  found 
opportunities  of  attending  the  local  schools  at 
the  same  time.  In  1847  ne  was  brought  to  this 
country  by  his  parents.  He  made  his  classical 
course  at  the  University  of  Notre  Dame,  and  as 
he  progressed  in  age  and  study  he  decided  on 
embracing  the  holy  ministry,  entered  the  Mil 
waukee  Preparatory  Seminary  as  a  theological 
student,  and  when  the  Salesianum  was  opened, 
in  1856,  at  Milwaukee,  he  was  among  the  first 
students.  He  made  a  complete  and  successful 
course  of  theological  studies  at  this  seminary, 
under  the  eyes  of  Bishop  Henni,  and  on  Decem 
ber  1 6,  1859,  he  was  ordained  by  that  prelate. 
Such  was  the  religious  atmosphere  of  his  home 
that  three  of  his  sisters  became  Sisters  of  Notre 
Dame.  Father  Flasch  served  his  first  missionary 
field  at  Laketown  for  little  less  than  a  year.  In 
October,  1860,  he  was  disciplinarian  and  pro 
fessor  in  his  alma  mater,  the  Salesianum,  and 
such  was  the  unsparing  labor  with  which  he 
filled  these  positions  that  his  health  broke  down. 


His  relaxation  and  repose  consisted  in  missionary 
work  again  at  Elm  Grove ;  and  here  he  erected 
St.  Mary's  Orphan  Asylum,  now  in  charge  of 
the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame.  In  1874  he  was 
again  recalled  to  the  Salesianum,  where  he 
occupied  the  responsible  position  of  Spiritual 
Director  and  Professor  of  Moral  Theology.  In 
1879  he  succeeded  Rev.  Dr.Wapelhorst  as  Rector 
of  the  Salesianum.  In  1881  Bishop  Heiss,  of 
La  Crosse,  having  come  to  Milwaukee  as  Co 
adjutor,  Dr.  Flasch  was  appointed  second  Bishop 
of  La  Crosse,  and  was  consecrated  by  Bishop 
Heiss,  on  August  24,  1881.  He  lost  no  time  in 
assuming  the  arduous  duties  of  the  episcopate. 
The  Diocese  then  possessed  fifty-five  priests, 
eighteen  religious  brothers  and  one  hundred 
and  sixty-three  sisters,  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
three  churches,  chapels  and  stations,  two  con 
vents,  one  college  and  one  academy,  forty- 
eight  parochial  schools,  two  orphanages  and 
forty-eight  thousand  Catholics,  of  whom  fifteen 
hundred  were  Indians.  The  Diocese  of  La 
Crosse,  under  his  vigorous  and  successful  ad 
ministration,  now  contains,  in  1890,  ninety-seven 
priests,  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  churches,  of 
which  seventy-seven  have  resident  pastors,  one 
hundred  and  twenty  stations  and  twelve  chapels, 
eighteen  theological  students,  one  academy,  fifty- 
eight  parochial  schools  with  six  thousand  pupils, 
two  orphan  asylums  and  a  Catholic  population 
of  sixty-seven  thousand. 


*  * 


(75) 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN   VERTIN,  D.D.. 


THIRD    BISHOP  OF    MARQUETTE. 


!HE  French  and  Indian  names 
born  by  cities  and  counties, 
historically  indicating  the 
origin  and  growth  of  Catholi 
city  in  this  Diocese,  such 
names  as  Marquette,  Allouez, 
Baraga,  Ontonagon,  Sault  Sainte 
Marie,  St.  Ignace  and  others,  give 
a  special  interest  to  the  active  field 
of  religion  so  well  presided  over  by 
Bishop  Vertin.  He  was  born  at 
Rndolfswerth,  Carniola,  on  July  17,  1844.  He 
was  always  a  devout  youth,  and  as  he  grew  up 
he  dedicated  himself  to  the  altar,  a  choice  which 
his  pious  parents  generously  encouraged.  At 
the  age  of  eighteen  he  came  to  America,  whose 
missions  he  aspired  to  serve.  His  father,  whose 
business  brought  him  to  the  United  States  and 
to  Michigan,  wisely  placed  his  son  under  the 
direction  of  that  apostolic  man  and  missionary 
Bishop,  Right  Rev.  Frederick  Baraga,  one  of 
whose  successors  he  afterwards  became.  Bishop 
Baraga  sent  young  Vertin  to  the  Salesianum, 
at  Milwaukee,  to  be  educated  as  a  priest  for  the 
Diocese  of  Marquette.  He  ardently  corresponded 
with  his  opportvinities,  and  having  received 
minor  orders  from  Archbishop  Henui  in  1865, 
he  returned  to  Marquette,  where  he  was  ordained 


by  Bishop  Baraga  on  August  31,  1869.  He  was 
the  first  priest  ordained  at  Marquette,  and  the 
last  priest  who  received  the  crism  of  the  priest 
hood  from  the  hands  of  that  heroic  Bishop. 
Father  Vertin's  first  mission  was  at  Houghton, 
where  he  gave  his  best  services  to  a  congregation 
of  mixed  nationalities  and  languages  for  five 
years.  The  difficult  mission  of  Negaunee  was 
his  next  field  of  self-sacrificing  labors,  and  here, 
too,  he  gently  and  zealously  accommodated  him 
self  to  all,  and  edified  all  by  his  zeal  and  good 
example.  In  1878,  when  Bishop  Mrak  resigned 
the  See  of  Marquette,  Father  Vertin  was  nomi 
nated  by  the  Bishops  of  the  ecclesiastical 
Province  of  Milwaukee  for  appointment  to  that 
See,  and  he  was  accordingly  appointed.  He  was 
consecrated  by  Archbishop  Heiss  on  September 
14,  1879.  His  work  as  Bishop,  like  his  mis 
sionary  work  as  a  priest,  has  proved  successful 
and  fruitful.  The  Diocese  then  contained  twenty- 
seven  churches,  twenty  priests,  five  female 
institutions,  three  charitable  institutions,  three 
female  academies,  and  twenty  thousand  Catholics. 
Now  these  statistics  have  been  advanced  to  fifty- 
one  priests,  fifty  churches,  sixty-five  stations,  all 
the  congregations  have  Catholic  schools  except 
fifteen,  two  orphan  asylums,  two  hospitals,  and  a 
Catholic  population  of  forty  thousand. 


(76) 


St  Louis  Cathedral,  New  Orleans,  La. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

PROVINCE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS. 

History  of  the  Archdiocese  of  New  Orleans  and  of  the  Suffragan  Dioceses  of  Galveston,  Little  Rock,  Mobile,  Natchez,  Natchitoches, 
San  Antonio,  Vicariate  Apostolic  of  Brownsville,  Texas,  and  Prefecture  Apostolic  of  the  Indian  Territory. 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS. 


[HE  Diocese  of  New  Orleans, 
which  originally  bore  the  title 
of  Diocese  of  Louisiana  and 
.  the  Floridas,  is  the  second  most 
ancient  in  our  country.  Erect 
ed  by  the  Holy  See  in 
1793,  Right  Rev.  Louis  Penal- 
ver  y  Cardenas  was  appointed 
first  Bishop.  He  was  conse 
crated  at  Havanna  in  1793.  Coming  from  Ha- 
vanna  he  reached  New  Orleans  in  1794.  The 
Cathedral  of  St.  Louis  had  been  completed  by 
Don  Andres  Almonaster.  The  Diocese  was  or 
ganized  by  Bishop  Penalver  y  Cardenas.  A 
chapter  and  two  canons  were  appointed,  and  all 
was  done  that  zeal  and  generosity  could  suggest 


to  bring  about  necessary  reforms  and  restore  re 
ligion  both  among  the  clergy  and  laity.  Gifted 
with  ample  means,  he  lavished  it  on  works  of 
charity  and  religion,  but  his  noble  efforts  met 
with  but  little  encouragement.  On  July  20, 
1801,  he  left  Louisiana  to  accept  the  See  of 
Gatitemala.  Right  Rev.  Francis  Porro,  a  Fran 
ciscan  priest  of  the  Convent  of  Santi  Apostoli  at 
Rome,  was  appointed  Bishop  of  Louisiana,  but 
he  was  never  consecrated  and  never  came  to 
America.  In  1804  the  extensive  territories  of 
Louisiana  were  ceded  by  France  to  the  United 
States.  Bishop  Carroll  received  the  administra 
tion  of  it,  Father  Thomas  Hasset  acting  as  his 
Vicar-General.  Fathers  David  and  Nerrinckx 
had  successively  declined  the  appointment,  and 

(77) 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS. 


it  was  not  until  1812  that  Right  Rev.  William 
Louis  Dubourg  arrived  as  Administrator  Apos 
tolic.  He  labored  under  difficulties  for  the  restora 
tion  of  faith  and  morals.  In  1814  the  Catholics 
of  New  Orleans,  headed  by  the  Administrator 
Apostolic,  gave  a  grand  ovation  to  General  Jack 
son  on  his  return  to  the  city  from  the  field  of 
victory,  Dr.  Dubourg  delivering  the  address, 
placing  a  laurel  wreath  on  the  hero's  brow  and 
singing  Te  Deum  in  the  Cathedral.  While 
Bishop  Dubourg  was  visiting  Rome,  in  1815,  the 
Diocese  of  New  Orleans  was  created  and  he  was 
appointed  Bishop  of  that  See,  and  he  was  conse 
crated  at  Rome  on  September  24,  1815.  He  re 
turned  in  July,  1817,  accompanied  by  five  priests 
and  twenty-six  ecclesiastical  candidates.  Fathers 
Andreis  and  Rosati  and  M.  Blanc  were  among 
his  companions.  While  abroad  he  had  been  in 
strumental  in  creating  the  noble  "Association 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith."  On  January 
i,  1818,  Bishop  Dubourg  took  possession  of  his 
vast  Diocese,  now  the  seat  of  the  two  metropol 
itan  provinces  of  New  Orleans  and  St.  Louis,  at 
the  latter  city,  deeming  it  best  to  defer  his  resi 
dence  in  New  Orleans  until  obstacles  were  re 
moved  and  he  could  assume  control  of  the  Ca 
thedral.  The  Diocese  now  saw  the  Bishop  sur 
rounded  with  fifty-three  co-laborers,  whom  he  had 
gathered  together,  and  the  interests  of  religion 
received  immense  impetus  from  his  and  their 
labors  and  zeal.  The  Seminary  of  the  Barrens 
was  founded  and  placed  in  care  of  the  Lazarists. 
A  college  at  St.  Louis  soon  followed,  and  next 
seven  young  Belgian  Jesuits  from  Maryland  were 
introduced,  the  House  of  Florissant  founded, 
and  the  Western  Province  of  the  Order  com 
menced.  The  Indian  missions  were  confided  to 
the  Jesuits.  The  first  Ladies  of  the  Sacred 
Heart  in  the  United  States  were  those  introduced 
by  Bishop  Dubourg;  the  Ursulines  took  fresh 
energy  from  the  new  order  of  things  in  Louisi 
ana  and  Mississippi.  At  St.  Louis  an  Episcopal 
house  and  Cathedral  were  erected.  In  1823  the 
Bishop  took  up  his  residence  at  New  Orleans  in 
the  Convent  of  the  Ursulines,  and  on  March  25, 
1824,  Bishop  Rosati  was  consecrated  as  his  Co 
adjutor.  In  1826  the  Diocese  of  St.  Louis  was 
erected.  While  in  Europe,  in  1826,  Bishop  Du 
bourg  was  transferred  to  the  French  See  of 
Montauban,  and  in  1828  Right  Rev.  Leo  Ray 


mond  De  Neckere  was  preconized  and  conse 
crated  on  June  24,  1830,  Bishop  of  New  Orleans. 
The  saintly  Bishop  had  scarcely  sufficient  health 
to  assume  his  duties,  but  he  assumed  them  with 
heroic  energy  and  fell  a  victim  to  his  unbounded 
charity  in  the  yellow  fever  plague  of  1833. 
Young  De  Blanc,  who  had  accompanied  Bishop 
Dubourg  to  America  in  1817,  was  now  an  emi 
nent  divine,  succeeded  as  Bishop  of  New  Or 
leans  and  was  consecrated  at  the  New  Orleans 
Cathedral  on  November  22,  1835.  In  1820  there 
were  scarcely  twenty  Easter  communicants  at 
New  Orleans.  Such  were  the  labors  of  Bishops 
Dubourg,  De  Neckere  and  Blanc  that  in  1838 
there  were  ten  thousand.  In  1838  Texas  was 
added  to  the  jurisdiction  of  Bishop  Blanc.  The 
Lazarists  were  sent  to  Texas,  which  was  erected 
into  a  Vicariate  Apostolic,  and  the  See  of  Natchez 
was  erected,  thus  removing  Texas  and  Missis 
sippi  from  the  Diocese  of  New  Orleans.  The 
Seminary  was  erected  in  1858.  The  Lazarists 
came  to  New  Orleans  in  1842,  and  the  Jesuits 
took  the  College  at  Grand  Couteau,  that  at  New 
Orleans  and  several  parishes.  Bishop  Blanc 
had  a  long  and  painful  controversy  with  the  lay 
Trustees  of  the  Cathedral,  but  finally  succeeded 
in  gaining  his  Episcopal  rights.  In  1850  New 
Orleans  became  a  Metropolitan  See  and  Dr. 
Blanc  an  Archbishop.  He  died  on  June  20, 
1860.  Dr.  Odin,  Vicar-Apostolic  of  Texas,  was 
the  next  Archbishop  of  New  Orleans,  who  was 
remarkable  for  his  exalted  virtues  and  apostolic 
labors.  He  nearly  doubled  the  number  of  his 
priests  and  churches,  and  institutions  of  educa 
tion  and  charity  were  erected  on  all  sides.  His 
services  to  religion  were  immense.  He  died  in 
the  odor  of  sanctity  on  May  25,  1870.  The  elo 
quent  Abbe  Perche,  of  New  Orleans,  was  the 
next  Archbishop  of  that  See.  He  was  conse 
crated  Bishop  of  Abdera  on  May  i,  1870,  and 
appointed  Co-adjutor  to  Archbishop  Odin,  upon 
whose  death,  soon  after,  he  became  Archbishop. 
He  received  the  Pallium  at  Rome  from  Pius  IX. 
in  December,  1870.  He  was  a  zealous  and  elo 
quent  prelate.  He  introduced  the  Carmelites. 
A  third  Academy  of  the  Sacred  Heart  was 
opened  and  three  other  academies  and  thirteen 
parish  schools  and  an  Asylum  of  the  Little  Sis 
ters  of  the  Poor  founded.  Ten  new  churches  and 
ten  chapels  and  several  new  stations,  and  an  in- 


DIOCESES  OF  GALVESTON  AND  LITTLE  ROCK. 


79 


crease  in  the  number  of  the  clergy,  signalize  his 
administration.  He  introduced  the  annual 
Thanksgiving  for  the  victory  of  New  Orleans. 
In  order  to  relieve  the  financial  condition  of  the 
Diocese,  Right  Rev.  Francis  Xavier  Leray  be 
came  Co-adjutor  on  October  23,  1879,  and  on 
the  death  of  Archbishop  Perche,  on  December 
27,  1883,  succeeded  as  Archbishop.  By  his  good 


judgment  and  business  knowledge  he  improved 
the  condition  of  the  Diocese.  The  parochial 
schools  and  academies  were  raised  from  thirty- 
six  to  seventy,  and  boys'  academies  and  free 
schools  from  fifteen  to  forty.  After  a  successful 
administration  he  died  on  September  23,  1887, 
and  was  succeeded  by  the  Most  Rev.  Francis 
Janssens,  the  present  Archbishop. 


DIOCESE  OF  GALVESTON. 


TEXAS  was  first  a  Prefecture  Apostolic,  created 
1840,  when  Very  Rev.  John  Timon,  a  Lazarist, 
and  afterwards  Bishop  of  Buffalo,  was  appointed 
Prefect  Apostolic.  Father  Odin,  afterwards 
Archbishop  of  New  Orleans,  was  appointed  Vice- 
Prefect.  In  1841  Pope  Gregory  XVI.  made  this 
vast  region  a  Vicariate  Apostolic  under  Dr.  Odin 
as  Bishop  of  Claudiopolis,  and  churches  were 
erected  at  Galveston,  Houston,  Nacogdoches, 
Lavaca,  Fort  Bent  and  other  places.  Priests  and 
religious  were  obtained  from  Europe,  Ursuline 


St.  Mary's  Cathedral,  Galveston,  Texas. 

Nuns,  Sisters  of  the  Incarnate  Word,  Brothers 
of  Mary  and  Oblate  Fathers  were  introduced. 
In  1847  tne  Diocese  of  Galveston  was  erected  and 


Dr.  Odin  became  its  first  Bishop.  He  was  pro 
moted  to  the  Archiepiscopal  office  at  New 
Orleans  in  1861,  whereupon  Rev.  Claude  Mary 
Dubuis,  then  pastor  at  San  Antonio,  was  made 
Bishop  of  Galveston,  and  was  consecrated  on 
November  23,  1862,  in  the  midst  of  the  most 
trying  period  of  the  civil  war.  Bishop  Dubuis 
after  the  war  labored  severely  and  zealously  to 
restore  the  churches  and  institutions  of  the 
Diocese,  and  did  good  service  in  this  direction. 
On  September  3,  1874,  the  new  Diocese  of  San 
Antonio  and  the  Vicariate  Apostolic  of  Browns 
ville  were  erected,  and  such  had  been  the  growth 
of  religion  and  the  fruits  of  the  apostolic  labors 
of  Bishops  Odin  and  Dubuis,  that,  at  the  time  of 
the  division  of  the  Diocese,  it  possessed  fifty-five 
churches  and  chapels,  eighty-three  priests  and  a 
hundred  thousand  Catholics.  His  severe  labors 
had  broken  down  the  health  of  Bishop  Dubuis, 
and  on  requesting  from  Rome  a  Co-adjutor, 
Right  Rev.  P.  Dufal,  then  Bishop  of  Delcon  and 
Vicar  Apostolic  of  Eastern  Bengal,  was  ap 
pointed  his  Co-adjutor  with  the  right  of  succes 
sion,  and  transferred  to  Texas  on  May  14,  1878. 
Bishop  Dufal  resigned  in  1880.  Bishop  Dubuis 
returned  to  France,  and  in  1881  resigned  the 
See,  whereupon  Right  Rev.  Nicholas  A.  Gal 
lagher  was  appointed  Bishop  of  Canopus  and 
administrator  of  Galveston,  and  is  now  success 
fully  governing  that  See. 


DIOCESE  OF  LITTLE  ROCK. 


THE  Holy  See  erected  the  See  of  Little  Rock, 
Arkansas,  containing  the  State  of  Arkansas  and 
the  Indian  Territory,  in  1843,  when  Rev.  Andrew 
Byrne,  pastor  of  St.  Andrew's  Church  in  New 
York  city,  was  appointed  its  first  Bishop.  He 


was  consecrated  at  Old  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral 
in  New  York  by  Archbishop  Hughes  on  March 
10,  1844,  at  the  same  time  and  place  Bishop 
McCloskey,  afterwards  Cardinal  Archbishop  of 
New  York,  and  Bishop  Quarter,  of  Chicago, 


** 


So 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  NEW   ORLEANS. 


were  consecrated.      The  new  Diocese  of  Little 


St.  Andrew's  Cathedral,  Little  Rock,  Ark. 

Rock  was  then  a  vast  field,  with  a  few  scattered     Right  Rev.  Edward  Fitzgerald. 


Catholics,  and  these  had  scarcely  any  churches 
or  priests ;  the  Catholics  only  numbered  severs 
hundred,  with  four  priests  and  four  churches. 
Europe  was  the  source  to  which  the  Bishop 
looked  for  supplies  of  priests,  sisters  and 
pecuniary  aid.  This  struggle  of  a  far  off  and 
new  Diocese  by  its  Bishop  to  supply  his  people 
led  to  a  result  apparently  of  ordinary  import  at 
the  time,  but  which  has  since  produced  immense 
fruits  to  the  whole  Church  in  America ;  foi 
Bishop  Byrne  obtained  a  small  colony  of  the 
Sisters  of  Mercy,  and  he  was  the  first  thus  to 
introduce  into  the  United  States  a  Sisterhood 
which  has  since  wonderfully  multiplied  its  works 
and  institutions  of  niercy  all  over  the  country. 
Such  was  the  poverty  of  this  scattered  flock  that 
Bishop  and  priests  were  almost  without  support. 
The  Diocese  was  represented  in  the  Sixth 
Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore  by  Bishop 
Byrne,  and  also  in  the  First  Provincial  Council 
of  New  Orleans.  He  died  at  Helena,  Arkansas, 
on  June  10,  1863,  leaving  to  his  successor 
thirteen  churches  and  nine  priests.  He  was 
succeeded -by  the  present  Bishop  of  Little  Rock, 


DIOCESE  OF  MOBILE. 


THIS  Diocese  was  formerly  embraced  within 
the  limits  of  the  Diocese  of  Louisiana  and  the 
Floridas,  and  the  Holy  See  first  created  the 
Vicariate  Apostolic  of  Mississippi  and  Alabama, 
but  subsequently  Pope  Pius  VII.,  by  Papal  Bulls 
of  January  21,  1823,  annexed  the  Vicariate  to 
Florida.  On  July  14,  of  the  same  year,  he  gave 
Mississippi  to  the  Bishop  of  New  Orleans,  and 
the  Vicariate  then  embraced  Alabama  and 
Florida.  Very  Rev.  Michael  Portier  was  ap 
pointed  the  first  Vicar-Apostolic,  who  was  con 
secrated  by  Bishop  Rosati,  at  St.  Louis,  on 
November  5,  1826.  This  Vicariate,  new  in  its 
creation  as  such,  embraced  the  oldest  Catholic 
portions  of  our  country,  for  St.  Augustine  had 
been  founded  in  1565,  and  Pensacola  in  1696, 
and  yet  there  was  scarcely  a  trace  of  the  noble 
work  attempted  by  Dominican,  Jesuit  and  Fran 
ciscan.  Among  Catholic  Spaniards  and  Indians 
there  was  not  a  priest,  and  in  the  two  old  Spanish 
cities  only  two  small  churches  stood  with  their 
flocks  still  held  together.  The  first  Bishop  had 


neither    cathedral,   residence,    chapel,    pectoral 


Cathedral  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  Mobile,  Ala. 


cross,  crosier  or  mitre,  and  he 
tion  of   his  extensive  field   on 


made  the  visita- 
horseback  from 


DIOCESE  OF  NATCHEZ. 


81 


Mobile  to  Pensacola,  Tallahassee  and  St.  Au 
gustine.  Few  priests  even  on  the  frontiers 
labored  and  travelled  as  did  Bishop  Portier,  who 
was  exhausted  by  his  labors  and  the  diseases  of 
the  climate,  but  soon  recovered  and  went  to 
Europe  for  assistance,  and  brought  back  two 
priests  and  four  candidates.  In  the  meantime 
Mobile  was  erected  into  an  Episcopal  See  and 
attached  to  the  Spanish  Province  of  Santiago  de 
'Cuba.  Bishop  Portier  built  a  little  frame  church 
at  Mobile  for  his  cathedral,  with  rooms  adjoining 
for  his  residence,  and  soon  he  had  churches  built 
in  Montgomery,  Tuscaloosa,  Huntsville,  Moul- 
ton  and  Florence.  Land  was  acquired  for  a 
college  at  Spring  Hill,  and  Father  Loras,  after 
wards  first  Bishop  of  Dubuque,  was  president ; 
after  being  directed  by  the  Eudists  and  Priests 
of  Mary,  it  passed  to  the  Jesuits,  its  present  con 
ductors,  in  1846.  The  Visitation  Nuns  were 
introduced  in  1832 ;  the  frame  cathedral  was 
replaced  by  a  modest  brick  church ;  the  corner 
stone  of  this  new  Cathedral  of  the  Immaculate 
Conception  was  laid  in  1835,  but  not  jinished  or 
dedicated  until  1850.  The  Christian  Brothers 
were  introduced,  so  also  the  Sisters  of  Charity, 
who  opened  a  school  at  St.  Augustine  and  after 
wards  received  charge  of  the  Mobile  Infirmary. 
Bishop  Portier  died  on  May  14,  1859,  and  was 
succeeded  by  the  Right  Rev.  John  Quinlan,  who 
was  consecrated  by  Archbishop  Blanc,  in  St. 
Louis,  on  December  4,  1859.  The  Diocese 


possessed  twelve  churches,  fourteen  schools, 
eight  secular  priests,  besides  the  Jesuit  Fathers 
at  Spring  Hill.  The  civil  war,  which  soon  came 
on,  prostrated  all  the  works  of  religion,  educa 
tion  and  charity.  The  Bishop,  his  priests  and 
the  Sisters  were  all  engaged  in  fields  of  battle  in 
performing  works  of  mercy.  The  churches  at 
Pensacola  and  Warrington  were  destroyed  and 
many  of  the  others  were  in  ruins.  After  the 
war  Bishop  Quinlan  did  much,  under  appalling 
difficulties,  to  restore,  but  his  task  was  difficult 
He  rebuilt  many  ruined  churches,  rebuilt  St. 
Patrick's  and  St.  Mary's,  at  Mobile,  and  gave 
churches  to  Huntsville,  Decatur,  Tuscumbia, 
Florence,  Cullman,  Birmingham,  Eufaula, 
Whistler  and  Three  Mile  Creek.  The  Sisters 
of  St.  Joseph  and  of  Mercy  were  introduced, 
schools  opened,  and  the  Benedictines  came  and 
took  charge  of  many  parishes.  Bishop  Quinlan 
died  on  March  8,  1883.  Right  Rev.  Dominic 
Manney,  Vicar-Apostolic  of  Brownsville,  Texas, 
next  became  Bishop  of  Mobile  on  March  9, 1884, 
but  he  was  still  charged  with  the  Vicariate  of 
Brownsville.  Bishop  Manney  struggled  to  meet 
the  labors  of  the  two  Dioceses  he  governed,  but 
his  health  failed,  and  he  resigned  in  October, 
1884,  and  after  seeing  the  present  Bishop,  Right 
Rev.  Jeremiah  O'Sullivan,  installed,  he  spent  his 
remaining  days  in  devotion.  He  died  at  Mobile, 
December  4,  1885,  leaving  much  accomplished 
and  much  to  be  done  in  the  Diocese  of  Mobile. 


DIOCESE  OF  NATCHEZ. 


THE  Diocese  of  Natchez  was  erected  in  1837, 
and  comprised  the  State  of  Mississippi,  the  Bulls 
being  dated  July  28.  Right  Rev.  Thomas 
Heyden,  of  Pennsylvania,  was  named  for  first 
Bishop  of  Natchez,  but  owing  to  his  declining 
the  office,  it  was  not  until  February,  1841,  that 
Right  Rev.  John  Mary  Joseph  Chanche,  who 
had  several  times  refused  the  Mitre,  received  the 
Bull?  of  December  15,  1840,  appointing  him 
Bishop  of  Natchez.  He  was  consecrated  on 
March  14,  1841,  at  Baltimore,  by  Archbishop 
Eccleston,  and  entered  his  Episcopal  city  alone, 
finding  his  Diocese  destitute  of  priests  and 
churches-.  Father  Brogard,  the  only  priest,  was 
officiating  at  Mechanics'  Hall,  and  the  Bishop 


accepted  for  his  residence  half  the  house  of  a 
good  widow,  Mrs.  Gireaudeau,  who  gladly  wel 
comed  him  to  Natchez,  as  she  had  seen  her 
husband  die  without  priests  of  sacraments.  No 
Diocese  could  be  more  desolate  or  poorer  than  that 
of  Natchez.  With  funds  borrowed  from  Bishop 
Blanc,  the  Bishop  of  Natchez  went  to  the  North 
and  purchased  some  necessary  church  articles, 
but  the  spirit  with  which  he  entered  his  office 
can  be  judged  from  the  fact  that  at  Baltimore 
he  purchased  and  consecrated  eighty-seven  altar- 
stones  for  missions  which  he  had  already  deter 
mined  to  found.  On  February  24,  1842,  the 
corner-stone  of  the  cathedral  was  laid,  and  in  the 
same  year  he  founded  an  academy.  The  cathedral, 


82 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS. 


though  unfinished,  was  dedicated  on  December 


Our  Lady  of  Sorrows,  Cathedral  Church,  Natchez,  Miss. 


25,  1842,  and  on  March  26,  1849,  ^e 
beautiful    bell     presented    to    him 


blessed  the 
by    Prince 


Torlanio.  The  Sisters  of  Charity  entered  the 
Diocese  in  1848.  Bishop  Chanche  died  on  July 
22,  1853.  Right  Rev.  James  Oliver  Van  de 
Velde,  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  then  Bishop  of 
Chicago,  was  transferred  to  the  See  of  Natchez 
on  July  29,  1853,  but  owing  to  the  refusal  of 
Bishop  Melcher  to  accept  the  new  See  of  Quincy, 
to  which  was  annexed  the  administration  of  the 
See  of  Chicago,  Bishop  Van  de  Velde  continued 
to  administer  the  latter  See,  and  did  not  depart 
for  Natchez  until  November  3,  1853,  and  reached 
that  See  on  December  18.  During  the  two 
years  of  his  Episcopate  at  Natchez  Bishop  Van 
de  Velde  founded  two  schools  at  that  place,  took 
measures  for  completing  the  cathedral,  and 
purchased  property  near  by  for  a  college.  He 
died  on  November  13,  1855,  whereupon  Arch 
bishop  Blanc,  of  New  Orleans,  became  adminis 
trator.  Right  Rev.  William  Henry  Elder  was 
appointed  the  next  Bishop  of  Natchez  on  January 
9,  1857,  and  continued  to  administer  its  religious, 
charitable  and  educational  interests  with  ability 
until  1880,  when  he  was  transferred  to  Cincin 
nati.  Rev.  Francis  Janssens  became  Bishop  of 
Natchez  on  May  i,  1881 ;  was  consecrated  on  that 
day.  He  was  appointed  Archbishop  of  New 
Orleans  by  Bulls  dated  August  8,  1888.  Right 
Rev.  Thomas  Heslin  was  the  next  Bishop  of 
Natchez,  who  was  consecrated  June  18,  1889. 


DIOCESE  OF  NATCHITOCHES. 
IN  1852  the  Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore 
recommended  the  erection  of  the  See  of  Natchi- 
toches,  embracing  that  part  of  Louisiana  lying 
north  of  the  3ist  degree;  this  was  accordingly 
done  by  the  Holy  See,  and  Rev.  Augustus  Mary 
Martin  was  appointed  first  Bishop.  He  was 
consecrated  at  St.  Louis  Cathedral,  New  Orleans, 
by  Archbishop  Blanc  on  December  31,  1853. 
There  were  only  five  priests  and  seven  churches 
in  the  Diocese  ;  the  Catholics  were  scattered,  and 
both  the  white  and  the  negro  population  had 
long  been  without  adequate  religious  accommoda 
tions  ;  they  numbered  about  twenty-five  thousand 
Catholics.  Priests  from  Brittany  were  obtained, 
and  these  were  devoted  pastors,  and  several  of 
them  sacrificed  their  lives  in  the  yellow  fever  at 
Shreveport.  The  Sisters  of  the  Congregation 
of  the  Daughters  of  the  Cross  came  to  the 
Diocese  from  Treguier,  in  France,  in  two  colonies, 


Cathedral  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  Natchitoches,  I«a. 


DIOCESE  OF  SAN  ANTONIO. 


placed  their  Mother-House  at  Fairfield,  and  have 
rendered  heroic  services.  Bishop  Martin  erected 
the  Cathedral  of  the  Immaculate  Conception, 
and  founded  Societies  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Faith  and  of  the  Holy  Childhood.  In  1866  a 
school  for  colored  girls  was  established  at 
Natchitoches  by  the  Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart; 
this  school  is  no  longer  in  existence,  but  it  did 
good  service.  Bishop  Martin  died  on  September 
29)  J875-  Right  Rev.  Francis  Xavier  Leray 


was  the  next  Bishop  of  Natchitoches,  and  was 
consecrated  at  Rennes,  in  France,  on  April  23, 
1877  ;  rendered  valuable  services  to  the  Diocese 
until  October,  1879,  when  he  was  appointed  Co 
adjutor  of  Archbishop  Perche,  of  New  Orleans. 
Right  Rev.  Anthony  Durier,  the  present  Ordi 
nary  of  the  Diocese,  became  Bishop  of  Natch 
itoches  in  1885,  and  the  history  of  this  Dio 
cese  will  be  continued  in  his  biography  in  this 
work. 


DIOCESE  OF  SAN  ANTONIO. 


THE  Diocese  of  San  Antonio,  embracing  that 
part  of  Texas  lying  between  the  Colorado  and 
the  Rio  Grande  Rivers,  except  that  portion 
south  of  the  Arroyo  de  los  Hermanos  on  the 
Rio  Grande,  and  the  counties  of  Live  Oak,  Bee, 


Cathedral  of  San  Fernando,  San  Atitonio,  Texas. 

Goliad  and  Refugio,  was  erected  on  September 
3,  1874,  and  Rev.  Anthony  Dominic  Pellicer,  of 
Mobile,  was  appointed  its  first  Bishop.  He  was 
consecrated  on  December  8,  1874,  by  Archbishop 
Perche,  at  the  Cathedral  of  Mobile.  The  new 
Diocese  contained  about  forty  thousand  Catholics, 


thirty-five  priests  and  seven  churches ;  the 
Brothers  of  Mary  had  St.  Mary's  college  at  San 
Antonio,  the  Urstiline  Nuns  had  an  academy, 
the  Sisters  of  the  Immaculate  Word  had  a 
hospital  and  orphan  asylum,  and  there  were 
eighteen  parochial  schools  under  the  Sisters  of 
the  Immaculate  Word,  Sisters  of  Mercy,  Sisters 
of  the  Immaculate  'Conception,  and  Sisters  of 
Divine  Providence.  All  these  were  reviving  the 
work  of  the  venerable  Antonio  Margil  and  his 
brethren  of  St.  Francis  in  early  Spanish  days. 
In  1875  the  addition  for  an  Episcopal  residence 
was  made  to  the  Presbytery  of  St.  Mary's 
Church ;  St.  Joseph's  College  and  Diocesan 
Seminary  were  founded  at  Victoria,  and  during 
his  short  administration  Bishop  Pellicer  ordained 
ten  priests.  New  churches  were  erected,  and 
institutions  were  greatly  multiplied.  Many  new 
parochial  schools  were  commenced.  Though 
travel  was  not  only  exhausting  but  even  danger 
ous  at  that  time  in  Texas,  so  zealous  were 
Bishop  Pellicer's  visitations  that  all  parts  of  his 
extensive  Diocese  felt  the  impulse  of  his  zeal. 
This  amiable,  indefatigable,  able  and  zealous 
Bishop  was  an  example  to  all,  and  during  years 
of  ill-health  he  labored  with  untiring  zeal.  He 
died  on  March  20,  1880,  leaving  his  Diocese  in 
possession  of  thirty-eight  priests,  fifty  churches, 
eight  stations,  six  ecclesiastical  students,  twenty- 
five  parochial  schools,  and  a  Catholic  population 
of  forty-eight  thousand.  The  Diocese  is  now 
flourishing  under  his  successor,  the  Right  Rev. 
J.  C.  Neraz. 


*  * 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS. 


VICARIATE  APOSTOLIC  OF  BROWNSVILLE. 


THE  Vicariate  Apostolic  of  Brownsville,  em 
bracing  that  part  of  Texas  lying  between  the 
Rio  Grande  and  Nueces  Rivers,  was  erected  in 
1874  out  of  the  large  Diocese  of  Galveston,  and 
Right  Rev.  Dominic  Manucy,  of  Mobile,  was 
the  first  Vicar  Apostolic.  He  was  consecrated 
as  Bishop  of  Dnlma  by  Archbishop  Perche,  in 
the  cathedral  at  Mobile,  on  December  8,  1874, 
arriving  at  Brownsville  in  February,  1875,  find 
ing  six  secular  priests  and  twelve  Oblate  Fa 
thers  laboring  in  this  extensive  but  scattered 
flock. 

The  people  of  this  part  of  Texas  led  a  roving  or 
semi-pastoral  life,  attending  vast  herds  of  cattle 


and  sheep,  and  scarcely  having  any  permanent 
homes.  He  ordained  five  new  priests,  introduced 
the  Sisters  of  the  Incarnate  Word  at  Corpus 
Christi  and  Brownsville,  the  Ursuline  Nuns  at 
Laredo,  and  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  at  San  Patricio 
and  Refugio,  and  thus  academies  and  free 
schools  for  boys  and  girls  were  established. 
Bishop  Manucy  resigned  the  Vicariate  in  1884, 
was  reappointed  in  1885,  being  also  Bishop  of 
Mobile,  where  he  died  on  December  4,  1885, 
after  having  transferred  the  Diocese  of  Mobile 
to  his  successor,  Bishop  O'Sullivan.  As  Vicar 
Apostolic  he  was  succeeded  by  Right  Rev.  J.  C. 
Neraz,  Bishop  of  San  Antonio. 


PREFECTURE-APOSTOLIC  OF  THE  INDIAN  TERRITORY. 


THE  Prefecture-Apostolic  of  the  Indian  Terri 
tory  was  created  in  1876,  and  embraces  the  In 
dian  Missions  among  the  Apaches,  Arapahoes, 
Caddoes,  Cheyennes,  Cherokees,  Chickasaws, 
Choctaws,  Comanches,  Creeks,  lowas,  Kikapoos, 
Kiowas,  Kansas,  Miamis,  Missourias,  Orias, 
Osages,  Ottoes,  Ottawas,  Pawnees,  Poncas, 
Pottowattomies,  Peorias,  Quapaws,  Sacs  and 
Foxes,  Seminoles,  Senecas,  Shawnees,  Toukawas, 
Wishitas  and  Wyandottes.  The  first  Prefecture- 
Apostolic  was  Right  Rev.  Isodore  Robot,  Bene 
dictine,  who  died  in  1887,  and  the  Prefecture  is 


now  governed  by  Very  Rev.  Dom  Ignatius  Jean. 
The  Benedictines  have  charge  of  the  Indian 
Missions ;  the  Mission  of  the  Sacred  Heart  of 
Jesus  is  the  centre  of  the  Missions  and  residence 
of  the  Prefect.  There  is  a  Monastery  of  the 
Sacred  Heart  and  Benedictine  Novitiate,  and  the 
Sisters  of  Mercy  and  Franciscan  Sisters  are 
aiding  in  the  great  work.  There  are  three  in 
dustrial  schools,  a  female  academy,  six  convents, 
four  day-schools,  twenty-eight  stations  and  thirty 
Indian  tribes,  with  a  Catholic  population  of  four 
thousand. 


COPYRIGHTED  1889  BYOEBBIB  &CO. 


MOST  REV.  FRANCIS  JANS  SENS,  BUD. 


MOST  REV.  FRANCIS  JANSSENS,  D.D. 


FOURTH    BISHOP   OF    NATCHEZ   AND    FIFTH    ARCHBISHOP   OF   NEW   ORLEANS. 


HE  Hollanders,  by  their  prac 
tical  and  industrial  training, 
their  good  judgment  and 
powers  of  accommodation,  have 
shown  in  this  country  a  special 
fitness  for  the  missions  and 
labors  of  the  American  Church. 
This  is  shown  by  the  numbers 
of  them  who,  either  as  priests 
or  as  bishops,  have  occupied  with  ability  places 
of  dignity  and  usefulness  in  our  midst.  Arch 
bishop  Janssens  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
instances  of  this  kind.  He  was  a  native  of 
Filburg,  in  North  Brabant,  Holland,  where  he 
was  born,  on  October  17,  1847,  anc^  where  his 
parents  and  family  held  a  fine  social  and  busi 
ness  position.  At  an  early  age  he  followed  the 
ecclesiastical  vocation,  and  commenced  his  sacred 
studies  at  the  Diocesan  Seminary  at  Bois-le-Duc, 
or  Herzogenbusch.  When  he  had  resolved  to 
offer  himself  for  labor  in  the  American  Missions 
he  entered  the  American  College  of  Louvain. 
After  a  course  marked  by  good  studies  and 
devout  deportment,  he  was  ordained  a  priest  on 
December  21,  1867.  He  had  already  been  in 
duced  to  affiliate  with  the  Diocese  of  Richmond 
by  the  eloquent  appeals  of  Bishop  McGill,  who 
had,  in  1866,  visited  Louvain  and  addressed  the 
students.  In  September,  1868,  he  commenced 
his  missionary  career  in  Virginia,  and  the  un 
assuming  demeanor  of  the  young  priest  did  not 
conceal  his  worth  and  usefulness.  He  became 
assistant  at  the  Cathedral,  and  served  the  mis 
sions  at  Warrenton,  Gordonsville  and  Culpepper 
Court-House.  Such  was  his  efficiency  that  he 
was  appointed  secretary,  then  chancellor,  and  in 
1877  Vicar-General  of  the  Diocese  of  Richmond. 


He  served  under  Bishops  McGill  and  Gibbons 
with  equal  success,  and  when  Bishop  Gibbons 
was  promoted  to  the  Archiepiscopal  See  of 
Baltimore,  Father  Janssens  was  appointed  ad 
ministrator  of  Richmond.  On  the -appointment 
of  Bishop  Keane  as  Bishop  of  Richmond,  Very 
Rev.  Francis  Jaussens  was  again  appointed  pas 
tor  of  the  Cathedral  and  Vicar-General.  On  the 
translation  of  Bishop  Elder,  of  Natchez,  to  Cincin 
nati,  Father  Janssens  was  appointed  Bishop  of 
Natchez,  was  consecrated  by  Archbishop  Gibbons 
in  the  Richmond  Cathedral  on  May  i,  1881,  and 
immediately  visited  Europe  and  his  family  in 
Holland,  where  he  received  a  public  ovation.  On 
his  return  he  commenced  at  once  his  arduous 
labors  in  Mississippi,  extending  his  care  to  whites, 
the  colored  people,  and  Indians.  The  Diocese 
possessed  nineteen  secular  priests,  parochial 
schools  for  boys  and  girls  in  twelve  congrega 
tions.  In  1888  Bishop  Janssens  became  Arch 
bishop  of  New  Orleans,  when  he  left  to  his  suc 
cessor,  at  Natchez,  thirty  secular  priests  on  duty, 
sixty  churches,  twenty  parochial  schools,  a  large 
increase  of  institutions,  and  in  the  Catholic 
population.  The  task  he  encountered  in  labor 
ing  for  religion  in  Mississippi  was  no  easy  one ; 
but  in  Louisiana  he  has  the  more  arduous  one 
of  grappling  with  financial  difficulties,  for  which 
he  has,  however,  a  special  ability.  The  Arch 
diocese  now  possesses  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
eight  priests,  ninety-two  churches  and  sixty-two 
chapels  and  stations,  twenty-one  clerical  students, 
nineteen  colleges  and  academies,  seventy  paro 
chial  schools,  with  an  attendance  of  nearly 
twelve  thousand  pupils,  nineteen  asylums  and 
hospitals  and  a  Catholic  population  of  three 
hundred  thousand. 


(85) 


RIGHT  REV.  NICHOLAS  A.  GALLAGHER,  D.  D., 


THIRD  BISHOP  OF  GALVESTON. 


HE  soil  of  Texas,  and  of  the 
Diocese  of  Galveston  espe 
cially,  were  sanctified  by  the 
early  labors  of  that  saintly 
prelate,  the  late  Dr.  Odin. 
Bishop  Gallagher  has  earnestly 
continued  the  work  commenced 
and  established  by  his  prede 
cessors.  Right  Rev.  Nicholas 
A.  Gallagher  is  a  native  of  Ohio,  and  was  born 
at  Temperanceville,  Belmont  county,  on  Febru 
ary  12,  1846.  After  his  elementary  studies  he 
made  his  classics  and  his  philosophy  at  Mount  St. 
Mary's  of  the  West,  and  then  realized  the  ex 
pectations  raised  by  his  early  dispositions  for  a 
religious  life  by  dedicating  himself  to  the  priest 
hood,  and  with  this  view  he  continued  in  the 
same  college  to  make  his  theological  studies, 
which  he  accomplished  with  marked  success. 
He  was  ordained  at  Columbus,  Ohio,  on  Decem 
ber  25,  1868,  by  Bishop  Rosecrans.  In  1869  he 
became  an  assistant  priest  to  Bishop  Rosecrans 
at  St.  Patrick's  Church  in  Columbus,  and  was 
also  specially  charged  with  the  care  and  attend 
ance  in  the  Cathedral  chapel,  and  he  continued 
these  services  until  1872,  when  he  was  appointed 
President  of  the  Seminary  of  St.  Aloysius  in  the 
vicinity  of  Columbus.  When  Bishop  Rose 
crans  had  himself  gone  to  St.  Joseph's  Cathedral 
and  made  his  residence  in  the  Cathedral  parish, 


Father  Gallagher  was  appointed  to  succeed  him 
and  take  charge  of  St.  Patrick's  Church  as  its 
pastor,  and  he  was  also  appointed  Vicar-General. 
After  the  death  of  Bishop  Rosecrans,  and  up  to 
the  mouth  of  August,  1880,  he  was  Administra 
tor  of  the  Diocese,  and  in  all  these  various  posi 
tions  he  discharged  his  responsible  duties  with 
exactness,  zeal  and  ability.  So  great  had  been 
his  services  to  the  Diocese  of  Columbus  that  in 
1882  he  was  selected  to  rule  and  administer 
another  Diocese,  and  was  appointed  Bishop  of 
Canopus  and  Administrator  of  the  Diocese  of 
Galveston,  Texas,  and  he  was  accordingly  con 
secrated  at  Galveston  by  Bishop  Fitzgerald,  of 
Little  Rock,  on  April  30,  1882.  By  his  good 
administrative  abilities  and  earnest  zeal  he  has 
succeeded  in  bringing  order  and  success  out  of 
the  materials  and  resources  at  his  command. 
When  he  went  to  Galveston,  in  1882,  the  Dio 
cese  possessed  fifty  priests,  forty  churches,  a  col 
lege,  twelve  female  academies  and  two  other  in 
stitutions  and  a  Catholic  population  of  twenty- 
five  thousand.  Now  the  Diocese  has,  at  the 
beginning  of  1890,  forty-eight  priests,  sixty 
churches  and  chapels,  thirty  stations,  sixteen 
theological  students,  one  college,  twelve  acad 
emies,  fifteen  parochial  schools,  with  an  attend 
ance  of  over  3,000,  two  asylums  and  a  Catholic 
population  of  41,000.  Bishop  Gallagher  attended 
the  Baltimore  centennials  in  1889. 


RIGHT  REV.  EDWARD   FITZGERALD,  D.  D.f 


SECOND   BISHOP  OK   LITTLE   ROCK. 


'ALLED  at  the  close  of  the 
civil  war  to  assume  the  ad 
ministration  of  a  Southern 
Diocese,  which  had  been  the 
devastated  scene  of  hostili 
ties,  Bishop  Fitzgerald  ac 
cepted  the  task  with  courage 
and  self-sacrifice.  He  was 
born  in  Limerick,  Ireland,  on  October 
13,  1833,  and  is  of  German  descent  on 
his  mother's  side.  His  family  came  to 
this  country  in  1849  when  he  was  sixteen  years 
old,  at  which  age  he  selected  as  his  vocation  the 
Holy  Ministry.  He  entered  the  College  at  the 
Barrens,  Missouri,  in  1850.  He  afterwards  made 
his  theological  studies  at  Mount  St.  Mary's  of 
the  West  and  Mount'  St.  Mary's  College,  Em- 
mettsburg,  as  a  student  of  the  Diocese  of  Cin 
cinnati.  He  was  ordained  a  priest  on  August 
22,  1857.  Difficult  and  embarrassing  appoint 
ments  seemed  to  fall  to  his  lot.  His  first  mis 
sion  was  as  pastor  of  the  Church  of  St.  Patrick, 
Columbus,  then  in  a  state  of  revolt  against 
Bishop  Purcell,  who  had  placed  them  under  in 
terdict.  His  pastoral  charge  was  a  successful 
one.  He  settled  the  revolt,  gave  quiet  to  the 
congregation  and  restored  it  in  its  allegiance  to 
the  Bishop.  He  continued  his  labors  at  Colum 
bus  for  nine  years  and  did  much  to  extend  the 
faith. 

The  Diocese  of  Little  Rock,  Arkansas,  had 
been  without  a  Bishop  since  the  death  of  Bishop 
Byrne,  in  June,  1862.  Such  was  the  distracted 
condition  of  the  State  that  it  was  not  until  1867 
that  religion  could  commence  to  revive,  and  then 


the  Holy  See  appointed  Father  Fitzgerald,  who 
was  consecrated  on  February  3,  1867.  Com 
mencing  with  five  priests,  he  now  has  twenty- 
eight,  and  the  Catholic  population  has  increased 
from  fifteen  hundred  to  nine  thousand.  He  has 
introduced  the  Benedictines  and  the  Fathers  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  both  having  priories  in  the 
Diocese.  Retaining  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  he  has 
added  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  the  Benedictine 
Sisters  and  Sisters  of  Charity  and  has  added  to  the 
schools  and  institutions  of  charity  and  education. 
He  attended  the  Vatican  Council  and,  though  he 
opposed  the  definition  of  Papal  Infallibility,  he 
has,  since  the  Council  decided,  accepted  the 
dogma.  In  1883  he  represented  the  Province  of 
New  Orleans  among  the  Bishops  invited  to  Rome. 
He  attended  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Balti 
more,  where  he  was  chosen  to  deliver  the  public 
sermon  in  the  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass.  He  is  a 
man  of  energy,  labor  and  success.  The  Diocese 
of  Little  Rock  possesses  convents  at  Little  Rock, 
Fort  Smith,  Hot  Springs,  Helena,  Pine  Bluff, 
Morrillton,  Conway  and  at  St.  Scholastica's,  con 
ducted  either  by  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  the  Sis 
ters  of  Charity,  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  or 
the  Sisters  of  St.  Benedict.  The  Benedictine 
Priory  in  Logan  county  and  the  Priory  of  the 
Fathers  of  the  Holy  Ghost  at  Marienstatt,  Con- 
way  county,  are  doing  a  good  work  for  religion  and 
education  in  the  parochial  schools  in  the  Diocese. 
The  Diocese  now  contains  twenty-nine  priests, 
fifty-two  churches  and  chapels,  twenty-four  sta 
tions,  five  ecclesiastical  students,  one  college, 
thirty-four  academies  and  schools,  and  a  Catholic 
population  of  nine  thousand. 


"|N  MANU   DEI   SUNT    / 

V^  •      i   • -»T — »aj'*  .  — n» 


** 


(87) 


RIGHT  REV.  JEREMIAH   O'SULLIVAN,  D.D. 


FOURTH   BISHOP  OF   MOBILE. 


PPOINTED  to  continue  the  works 
and  labors  of  such  exemplary 
and  self-sacrificing  prelates  as 
Bishops  Portier,  Quinlan  and 
Manucy,  in  a  State  where 
little  prejudice  exists,  but 
where  the  Church  has  made 
but  slow  progress,  Bishop 
O'Sullivan  has  labored  sedu 
lously  and  zealously  in  studying  the 
spiritual  interests  and  promoting  the  re 
ligious  progress  of  his  flock.  He  was 
born  at  Kanturk,  County  Cork,  Ireland,  in  the 
year  1844,  and  acquired  a  good  education.  He 
resolved  while  yet  young  to  embrace  the  holy 
ministry  and  to  devote  himself  to  the  American 
missions.  As  early  as  nineteen  years  of  age  he 
came  to  America  and  became  a  zealous  student 
at  St.  Charles'  College,  near  Eliicott  City,  con 
ducted  by  the  Sulpitian  Fathers,  and  thence  he 
went  to  St.  Mary's  Seminary  in  Baltimore,  con 
ducted  by  the  same  society.  He  was  ordained 
at  Baltimore  by  Right  Rev.  Martin  John  Spald- 
ing,  Archbishop  of  Baltimore,  in  June,  1868. 
His  first  missionary  labors  were  at  Westernport, 
Allegheny  county,  Maryland,  where  by  his  fine 
ecclesiastical  bearing  and  conduct,  and  his  zealous 
performance  of  every  duty,  he  showed  the  effect 
of  the  superior  training  received  under  those 
model  educators  of  the  clergy,  the  Sulpitians. 
Here  he  erected  the  fine  and  commodious  Church 


of  St.  Peter,  and  he  called  to  Westernport  the 
Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  whose  convent  he  founded, 
and  confided  to  them  the  schools  of  the  parish. 
In  this  well-cultivated  field  he  spent  nine  years, 
and  left  behind  him  good  fruits  of  his  pastoral 
zeal.  His  next  missionary  field  was  at  St. 
Peter's  Church,  on  Capitol  Hill,  Washington 
City,  where  he  became  a  father  to  his  flock  and 
to  the  Sisters  and  inmates  of  Providence  Hos 
pital,  which  is  in  that  parish.  His  labors  at 
Washington  City  commended  him  to  all,  and  he 
became  well  known  as  a  priest  of  superior  merit. 
On  the  resignation  of  Bishop  Manucy,  of  Mobile, 
Father  O'Sullivan  was  appointed  on  June  6, 
1885,  as  his  successor,  the  Diocese  embracing 
the  State  of  Alabama  and  West  Florida.  He 
was  consecrated  by  Archbishop  Gibbons  on  Sep 
tember  20,  1885.  Having  gone  immediately  to 
his  arduous  field,  he  has  labored  without  rest 
ever  since.  The  Diocese  possessed  forty-three 
priests,  of  whom  twenty-three  were  religious, 
either  Jesuits  or  Benedictines,  thirty-six  churches, 
thirteen  convents  and  academies,  eighteen  paro 
chial  schools,  a  college,  an  infirmary  and  two 
asylums.  Now  the  Diocese  has,  at  the  beginning 
of  1890,  thirty-eight  priests,  of  whom  twenty 
are  regulars,  forty-six  churches,  fifty  stations 
and  ten  chapels,  thirteen  ecclesiastical  students, 
one  college,  six  academies,  eighteen  parochial 
schools,  two  asylums  and  a  Catholic  population 
of  about  nineteen  thousand. 


C8S) 


RIGHT  REV.  THOMAS  HESLIN,  D.D. 


FIFTH    BISHOP   OF  NATCHEZ. 


ISHOP  HESLIN  is  a 
native  of  the  County 
Longford,  in  Ireland, 
•where  he  was  born  in 
1847.  He  came  to 
this  country  at  an  early 
age,  and  it  is  said  that 
Bishop  Dubuis,  of  Gal- 
veston,  persuaded  him 
to  come  to  America,  which  he  did  in  1863, 
and  in  that  year  we  find  him  seeking  employ 
ment  on  one  of  the  levees  of  New  Orleans.  His 
early  struggles  for  a  livelihood  were  manly,  but 
he  always  kept  the  priesthood  in  view,  and  by 
his  own  good  management  and  address  he  got 
himself  admitted  into  the  Bouligny  school  on 
Napoleon  avenue,  and  made  an  honorable  record. 
It  is  said  that  even  then  he  applied  himself  as 
far  as  possible  to  sacred  studies.  He  was  sent 
by  the  ordinary  of  the  Diocese  to  the  Lazarist 
Seminar}'',  finished  his  theological  studies  be 
fore  arriving  at  the  canonical  age  for  ordination, 
and  went  to  the  Marist  College  at  Jefferson,  where 
he  studied  and  taught.  He  was  ordained  by 
Bishop  Quinlan,  of  Mobile,  on  September  18, 1869, 
and  soon  after  became  assistant  rector  of  St. 
Vincent's  Church,  after  having  first  served  for  a 
time  at  the  Cathedral.  At  St.  Vincent's  he 
made  a  good  record,  and  was  next  appointed 
pastor  of  the  important  Church  of  St.  Michael,  in 
which  he  was  installed  by  Archbishop  Perche  on 
December  21,  1873.  During  his  pastoral  care 
of  St.  Michael's  he  was  offered  the  rectorship  of 


the  important  Church  of  St.  Patrick,  but  he  was 
unwilling  to  leave  St.  Michael's,  which  was  a 
new,  large  and  populous  parish,  and  afforded  an 
acceptable  field  for  Father  Heslin's  energetic 
and  laborious  habits  and  zeal.  In  St.  Michael's 
parish  he  erected  a  large  and  commodious  brick 
school-house,  a  convent  for  the  Sisters  of  Mercy, 
and  a  separate  school  for  girls.  In  all  of  his 
undertakings  he  was  successful,  by  prudent 
measures  and  business-like  management,  in  rais 
ing  funds,  and  the  indebtedness  he  contracted 
was  small.  It  was  owing  in  a  measure  to  his 
business  ability  no  less  than  to  his  ecclesiastical 
attainments  that  he  was  raised  to  the  Episcopate. 
After  the  transfer  of  Most  Rev.  Archbishop 
Janssens  from  Natchez  to  New  Orleans,  Father 
Heslin  was  chosen  as  his  successor  in  the  former 
See,  and  he  was  consecrated  by  Archbishop 
Janssens  at  the  New  Orleans  Cathedral  on  June 
18,  1889.  His  first  episcopal  act  was  to  adminis 
ter  confirmation  in  his  old  parish,  St.  Michael's. 
He  has  received  a  Diocese  with  something  over 
fifteen  thousand  Catholics  ;  the  Chocta'w  Indians 
form  a  part  of  these  and  within  their  midst  are 
several  chapels  and  schools,  and  the  Sisters  of 
Mercy.  There  are  also  in  the  Diocese  the  Sisters 
of  St.  Joseph,  of  Notre  Dame,  of  Nazareth  and 
Marianites,  of  the  Holy  Cross.  The  Diocese  now 
has  twenty-eight  secular  priests,  sixty  churches, 
seven  theological  students,  one  college,  three 
academies,  twenty  parochial  schools,  two  orphan 
asylums,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  over 
fifteen  thousand. 


(89) 


RIGHT  REV.  ANTHONY   DURIER,  D.D., 


THIRD    BISHOP  OF    NATCHITOCHES. 


Y  the  apostolic  labors  of 
the  Venerable  Father 
Anthony  Margil  of 
Jesus  and  his  com 
panions,  and  by  conse 
crated  shrines  as  early 
as  1715,  the  Diocese 
of  Natchitoches  had 
been  blessed,  and  it  re 
ceived  in  later  years  the  zeal  and  administrations 
of  Bishops  Martin  and  Leray,  and  now  has  the 
efficient  care  of  Bishop  Durier.  Anthony  Durier 
was  a  native  of  Rouen,  in  France,  and  was  born 
in  1833.  Religious  vocations  had  become  almost 
traditional  in  his  family,  for  a  number  of  them 
had  graced  the  priesthood,  and  one  of  his  rela 
tives,  a  priest  on  the  missions  of  China,  died  in 
that  remote  country.  He  too  at  an  early  age 
accepted  the  call  to  the  altar,  and  became  a 
theological  student  at  the  seminary  at  Lyons. 
The  appeal  of  Archbishop  Blanc,  of  New  Orleans, 
reached  his  heart,  and  he  gave  himself  to  the 
distant  missions  of  Louisiana,  coming  to  the 
United  States  in  1855.  At  St.  Mary's  of  the 
West  he  continued  his  sacred  studies,  and  was 
ordained  by  Archbishop  Purcell  in  1856.  He 
became  a  good  theologian  and  master  of  the 
English  language.  His  first  mission  was  at 
Chillicothe,  where  his  usefulness  was  so  marked 
that  in  the  following  year,  1857,  he  was  called  to 
assist  for  two  years  at  the  Cathedral  of  New 
Orleans.  In  1859  he  became  pastor  of  the  im 


portant  Church  of  the  Annunciation,  and  here 
for  twenty-six  years  he  edified  all  by  his  piety, 
drew  them  to  their  religkms  duties  by  his  zeal, 
and  encouraged  them  by  his  untiring  labors. 
His  charities  were  a  conspicuous  feature  in  his 
life  and  in  his  pastoral  administration.  Under 
his  good  management  the  church  became  one  of 
the  most  prosperous  in  the  Diocese  of  New 
Orleans.  He  built  a  number  of  parochial  schools 
for  boys,  girls  and  colored  children.  Eighteen 
Sisters  of  the  Perpetual  Adoration  conduct  these 
schools,  which  have  an  attendance  of  over  three 
hundred.  The  Mother  House  of  the  same  Sisters 
is  located  in  that  parish,  and  the  community 
enjoyed  the  prudent  counsels  of  Father  Durier. 
He  was  for  many  years  president  of  the  eccle 
siastical  conference  of  the  clergy  of  the  entire 
archdiocese,  an  evidence  of  his  high-standing 
with  his  Archbishop  and  his  own  colleagues  in 
the  ministry.  Having  been  appointed  Bishop  of 
Natchitoches  he  was  consecrated  at  the  Cathedral 
of  St.  Louis  by  Archbishop  Leray  on  March  19, 
1885.  He  found  in  his  Diocese  then  eighteen 
priests,  twenty-two  churches  and  four  chapels, 
thirty-six  stations  visited  and  four  convents. 
The  fact  that  there  were  in  all  sixty-two  altars 
supplied  by  eighteen  priests  shows  how  zealous 
a  clergy  the  Diocese  must  have  possessed.  Bishop 
Durier  has  done  much  for  religion  and  education 
in  his  Diocese,  which  now  possesses  twenty 
priests,  twenty-seven  churches,  ten  convents  and 
eight  chapels. 


(9°) 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  C.  NERAZ,  D.  D., 


SECOND   BISHOP   OF  SAN   ANTONIO,    AND   VICAR   APOSTOLIC  OF   BROWNSVILLE,    TEXAS. 


EDICATING  himself 
early  in  life  to  the 
foreign  missions, 
while  a  young 
scholastic  in  France, 
he  nobly  carried  out 
his  vocation,  for  after 
having  chosen 
America  as  his  field  of  labor,  his  first  mission 
extended  over  the  vast  region  of  Northeastern 
Texas  as  far  as  the  Red  River,  and  this  truly 
apostolic  work  well  fitted  him  for  higher  duties 
of  the  episcopate.  He  was  born  on  January  12, 
1828,  at  Ause,  in  the  French  Department  of 
Rhone,  received  a  good  elementary  education, 
and  having  accepted  the  inward  call  to  the  priest 
hood,  he  commenced  his  preparatory  course  of 
studies  at  the  Sulpitian  Seminary  of  St.  Jodard ; 
thence  he  went  to  make  philosophy  and  theology 
at  the  great  Seminary  of  Alix,  a  branch  of  Lyons, 
and  finally  at  the  Lyons  Seminary  he  completed 
his  entire  course.  In  1852  he  came  to  the 
United  States,  for  the  exalted  and  noble  pur 
poses  of  the  active  missionary  life  of  which  he 
had  yearned  during  so  many  years  of  prep 
aration,  received  sub-deacon's  orders  on  Septem 
ber  28th  of  that  year,  and  on  February  19,  1853, 
he  was  ordained  a  priest  by  Bishop  Odin,  of 
Galveston,  from  contact  with  whom  he  seemed 
to  imbibe  the  true  apostolic  ardor.  His  first 
mission  was  that  of  Nacogdoches,  where  he  had 
under  his  care  the  extensive  region  of  North 
eastern  Texas.  After  having  evangelized  that 
northern  region  he  was  sent  to  labor  in  the  South, 
having  been  transferred  in  1864  to  Southern 
Texas,  his  mission  covering  Liberty  county.  He 
labored  here  with  untiring  zeal  for  two  years. 
He  next  labored  most  zealously  at  San  Antonio 
from  1866  to  1868,  and  next  at  Laredo,  where  he 
erected  the  Church  of  St.  Augustine,  and  com 
pleted  the  Ursuline  Convent.  In  1873  he  was 
appointed  pastor  of  the  Church  of  San  Fernando, 
now  his  own  Cathedral.  Experience,  labor,  self- 


sacrifice,  familiarity  with  the  country,  and  ma 
turity  of  judgment  had  now  fitted  him  for  the 
episcopacy.  The  Diocese  of  San  Antonio  having 
been  erected  on  September  3,  1874,  Bishop 
Pell  icer  appointed  Fath  er  Neraz  his  Vicar-General , 
and  on  the  death  of  that  Prelate  he  was  appointed 
Administrator.  He  was  appointed  Bishop  of 
San  Antonio  and  was  consecrated  on  May  8, 
1 88 1.  The  Diocese  contains  Ursulines,  Sisters 
of  Charity,  Sisters  of  Mercy,  Sisters  of  the  Incar 
nate  Word,  Carmelites :  also  the  Brothers  of 
Mary  and  Priests  of  the  Holy  Cross.  St.  Mary's 
College,  under  the  Brothers  of  Mary,  and  St. 
Joseph's  College  and  Diocesan  Seminary,  under 
the  secular  clergy,  and  a  number  of  convents, 
mark  the  activity  of  religious  interests  under  his 
administration ;  parochial  schools  have  increased, 
and  churches  nearly  doubled.  The  Diocese 
possesses  three  academies  for  young  ladies,  two 
colleges  and  a  Catholic  population  of  fifty  thou 
sand.  Many  of  the  old  missions  of  Spanish  days 
have  been  revived.  In  1884  Bishop  Neraz  at 
tended  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore, 
and  many  were  interested  through  him  in  the 
distant  Texan  missions.  The  Carmelite  Convent 
of  St.  Joseph  at  Marienfield,  Martin  county,  and 
the  St.  Edward's  College  under  the  Priests  of  the 
Holy  Cross,  are  interesting  features  of  the 
Diocesan  work.  On  May  6,  1887,  Bishop  Neraz 
was  appointed  Vicar-Apostolic  of  Brownsville, 
and  had  a  vast  labor  added  to  his  episcopal  work. 
The  Diocese  of  San  Antonio  now  possesses  forty- 
eight  priests,  ninety-five  churches,  forty-eight 
stations  and  eight  chapels,  one  seminary  and 
nine  theological  students,  three  colleges,  three 
academies,  twenty-nine  parochial  schools,  two 
asylums  and  a  Catholic  population  of  nearly 
sixty  thousand ;  while  the  Vicariate  Apos 
tolic  of  Brownsville  has  twenty-one  priests, 
ten  churches,  twenty-five  chapels,  four  academies, 
six  parochial  schools,  and  a  Catholic  population 
of  forty-five  thousand,  most  of  whom  are  Spanish- 
speaking. 

(91) 


Cathedral  Church  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  Portland,  Oregon. 

CHAPTER  X. 
PROVINCE  OF  OREGON. 

History  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Oregon  City  and  of  the  Sufiragan  Dioceses  of  Helena,  Nesqually,  Vancouver's  Island  and  the  Vicariate 

Apostolic  of  Idaho. 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  OREGON  CITY. 


HE   Canadians   in  Oregon,  on 

July    3,     1834,    addressed     a 
petition  to  Bishop  Provencher 
for    the     establishment    of    a 
Catholic  mission  for  the  Cana 
dians   and   Indians   at  Walla- 
mette  Valley.     At    first  some 
objection    was    made    by    the 
British  government  and  Hud 
son  Bay  Company,  but  these  were  removed,  and 
in   1837  arrangements  were  made  for  a  mission 
at  Cowlitz  River  instead  of  Wallamette  Valley. 
The   Abbe  Francis   Norbert  Blanchet,  cure  of 
St.    Joseph's  de   Soulanges,  at   the    Cedars,  in 
(92) 


Canada,  was  selected  for  this  arduous  work,  and 
he,  accompanied  by  Rev.  Modest  Demers,  set 
out  from  Montreal,  on  May  3,  1838,  and  reached 
Fort  Vancouver  on  November  24.  Abbe 
Blanchet  was  appointed  Vicar-General  of  the 
Bishop  of  Quebec.  The  Hudson  Bay  Company 
possessed  ten  or  twelve  establishments  for  the 
fur  trade,  at  all  of  which  there  were  several 
Canadian  Catholic  families.  At  Wallamette 
there  were  twenty-six  Catholic  families,  and  at 
Cowlitz  four :  all  these  had  been  in  great  danger 
of  losing  their  faith  as  they  had  neither  priest, 
altar,  sacrifice  nor  sacraments.  There  were 
already  Methodist  and  Presbyterian  missions  in 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  OREGON  CITY. 


93 


the  country ;  the  Anglican  mission  had  been 
abandoned.  The  first  work  of  the  missionaries 
was  to  struggle  for  the  restoration  of  the  faith 
among  the  Canadians ;  they  remarried  many  that 
had  received  marriage  at  the  hands  of  the  Meth 
odist  ministers,  and  missions  were  established  at 
several  points,  which  were  now  visited  as  regu 
larly  as  the  missionaries  were  able  to  do ;  such 
places  were  Wallamette,  Cowlitz  and  Cascades ; 
and  Father  Demers  made  a  missionary  expe 
dition  to  Nesqually,  Puget  Sound  and  Frazer 
River.  The  sectarians  became  enraged  at  their 
success  in  winning  over  so  many  from  the  Prot 
estant  meetings.  The  wilderness  soon  re 
sounded  with  the  angry  notes  of  controversy, 
and  the  ministers  went  so  far  as  to  bring  to  their 
aid  that  infamous  book,  Maria  Monk's  Awful 
Disclostires.  The  Indians  also  abandoned  the 
Methodist  and  Presbyterian  meetings  and  flocked 
to  the  Catholic  missions.  Vicar-General  Blan- 
chet  invented  an  ingenious  method  of  instructing 
the  Indians  by  means  of  the  Catholic  Ladder, 
a  chart  or  scale  six  feet  long  by  fifteen  inches 
wide,  on  which  the  dogmas  of  the  Catholic  faith 
were  represented  by  pictures,  and  on  the  margins 
were  pious  hymns  and  canticles.  In  1842 
Father  de  Smet  brought  Jesuit  Fathers  to  assist 
in  the  Oregon  missions  and  Sisters  of  Notre 
Dame  from  Namur,  in  France,  for  the  schools. 
So  great  was  the  progress  of  the  Oregon  Church 
that  the  Holy  See,  at  the  request  of  the  Fifth 
Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore,  on  December  i, 

1843,  erected  Oregon  into  a  Vicariate  Apostolic, 
and    the    Abbe    Blanchet  was    appointed  Vicar 
Apostolic.     The  new  Vicar  started  at  once  for 
Europe,  by  way  of  Honolulu  and  Cape  Horn,  to 
obtain    aid    for    his    missions,    and    arrived    at 
London    on   May    22,    1844,  and    returning   to 
Canada,  his  native  country,  he  was  consecrated 
by  Bishop  Bourget,  of   Montreal,  on    July  25, 

1844.  He  went  now  to  Rome,  where  he  arrived 
•in  January,  1846,  and  returned  with  six  secular 
missionaries,    four    Jesuit    Fathers,    three     lay 
brothers    and   seven    Sisters    of    Notre    Dame, 
twenty-one  in  all.      Already  had  six  thousand 
Indians    been  converted    and  baptized,  a  dozen 
Catholic  communities  clustered  around  the  com 
pany's  posts,  and  there  were  fourteen  chapels ; 
fifteen  hundred  Canadians  had  been  reclaimed  to 


the  Church.  Consecrated  under  the  title  Bishop 
of  Philadelphia,  he  subsequently  received  the 
title  of  Bishop  of  Draza.  In  1846  Oregon  was 
erected  into  a  Metropolitan  See  with  Nesqually, 
Vancouver's  Island,  Princess  Charlotte,  Walla- 
Walla,  Fort  Hall,  Colville  and  New  Caledonia, 
as  Suffragans,  and  Dr.  Blanchet  became  Arch 
bishop  of  Oregon  City  on  July  i,  1846.  By 
1847  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Peter,  at  Wallamette, 
and  twenty-two  chapels  or  stations  were  estab 
lished.  In  1848  the  First  Provincial  Council  of 
Oregon  was  held  in  the  wilderness.  In  this  year 
the  Oblates  came  and  founded  a  mission  at 
Astoria.  In  1865  the  episcopal  residence  was 
removed  from  Oregon  City  to  Portland.  In 
1868  Right  Rev.  Charles  John  Seghers  became 
co-adjutor.  The  settlement  of  the  Oregon 
question  between  England  and  the  United  States 
brought  the  Diocese  of  Oregon  within  the  latter ; 
its  Suffragans  were  Nesqually  and  Vancouver's 
Island,  and  the  Vicariate  of  British  Columbia, 
created  in  1863,  and  the  Vicariate  of  Idaho,  in 
1868.  This  region,  which,  in  1838,  had  but  two 
priests,  now  possessed  seventy-two  priests,  one 
hundred  and  seven  churches  and  chapels,  four 
colleges,  eleven  academies,  four  hospitals,  four 
asylums  and  one  hundred  and  seventy-five 
sisters.  The  Diocese  of  Oregon  City  alone 
possessed  twenty-three  priests,  twenty-five 
churches,  one  college,  nine  academies,  a  hospital, 
an  asylum,  numerous  schools  and  twenty  thou 
sand  Catholics.  Exhausted  by  the  labors  of 
forty-five  years,  Archbishop  Blanchet  resigned, 
in  1880,  whereupon  his  co-adjutor,  Most  Rev. 
Charles  John  Seghers,  became  Archbishop  of 
Oregon.  He  had  already  been  chief  laborer  in 
that  Diocese  since  1879,  when  he  became  co 
adjutor,  and  when  it  contained  twenty -three 
priests  and  twenty-two  churches.  His  labors 
equalled  those  of  Archbishop  Blanchet,  but  in 
1884,  with  the  permission  of  Pope  Pius  IX.,  he 
resigned  the  Archbishopric  of  Oregon  for  the 
humbler  and  more  arduous  see  of  his  former 
labors,  the  Diocese  of  Vancouver's  Island.  He 
had  increased  the  Oregon  churches  to  twenty- 
nine  and  the  churches  to  twenty-five.  The 
Archdiocese  of  Oregon,  on  February  5,  1885, 
passed  under  the  sway  of  Most  Rev.  William  H. 
Gross,  formerly  Bishop  of  Savannah. 


94 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  OREGON  CITY. 


DIOCESE  OF  HELENA. 


Cathedral  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  Helena,  Montana. 

THE  Diocese  of  Helena  was  erected  by  the 


Holy  See  on  March  7,  1884,  and  comprises  the 
Territory  of  Montana.  Right  Rev.  John  Baptist 
Brondel  was  the  first  Bishop  of  the  Diocese,  to 
which  he  is  transferred  from  the  Diocese  of 
Vancouver's  Island.  The  Jesuit  Fathers,  Sisters 
of  Charity,  Sisters  of  Providence  and  Ursuline 
Sisters  are  at  work  in  the  Diocese,  and  there  are, 
besides  St.  Aloysius  College  at  Helena,  a  good 
number  of  academies  and  parochial  schools, 
several  of  which  are  for  Indians.  There  are 
nine  convents,  five  hospitals  and  an  asylum. 
The  Diocese  possesses  thirty  priests,  of  whom 
nineteen  are  Jesuits,  and  a  Catholic  population 
of  twenty -five  thousand  in  the  twenty -eight 
churches.  Bishop  Brondel's  fine  missionary 
experience,  and  his  zeal,  have  accomplished 
great  good  in  Montana  for  both  whites  and 
Indians. 


THE  Diocese  of  Walla-Walla,  in  Washington 
Territory,  was  organized  in  1844,  and  embraced 
the  extensive  territories  between  the  Pacific  Ocean 
and  White  Salmon    River,  above  the  Cascades, 
the  British  Possessions  and  the  Columbia  River. 
Right     Rev.     Augustus     Magloire    Alexander 
Blanchet,  brother  of  Archbishop   Blanchet,  of 
Oregon  City,  was  its  first  Bishop,  and  he  was 
consecrated   at   the   Cathedral   of  Montreal,  of 
which  he  was  a  canon,  on  September  27,  1846, 
by  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Bourget.     He  made  the 
arduous    journey  in   the   spring  of    1847,   and 
arrived  at  Walla-Walla  on  September  5,  after  a 
six     months'    travel,    accompanied    by    Oblate 
Fathers  and   secular   priests.      The   labors   of 
Bishop  Blanchet  in  that  remote  wilderness  were 
truly  apostolic,  embracing  the  scattered  Canadian 
Catholics  and  the  still   more   scattered   Indian 
tribes.     The  Diocese  of  Nesqually  was  erected 
on   May    21,   1850,   and   Bishop   Blanchet   was 
transferred  to  it  from  Walla- Walla.    In  1853  the 
Diocese  of   Walla-Walla   was    suppressed,    and 
a  part  of  it,  including  the  Dalles  and  Cayuse  Ter 
ritory,  was  annexed  to  the  Diocese  of  Nesqually, 
which  covered  the  vast  Territory  of  Washington. 
The  discovery  of  gold  in  California  drew  away 
great  numbers  of  his  flock,  but  Bishop  Blanchet 


DIOCESE  OF  NESQUALLY. 

persevered.     In  1856  he  introduced  the  Sisters 
of  Charity,  of  the  House  of  Providence,  and  in 


Cathedral  of  St.  James  and  Augustine,  Vancouver,  Washington. 

1879  he  had  the  House  of  Providence  and 
Providence  School,  St.  Joseph's  Hospital,  St. 
Genavefa's  Female  Orphan  Asylum  and  St. 
Vincent  Male  Asylum,  all  at  Vancouver,  a 
hospital  at  Seattle,  St.  Vincent's  Academy  at 
Walla-Walla,  an  academy  and  day  school  at 


DIOCESE  OP  VANCOUVER'S  ISLAND. 


95 


Cowlitz,    an   academy    and    school    at   Yakirna,     Brouillet    at    Washington,    has    not   even   yet 


schools  for  Indian  boys  and  girls  at  Tulalih,  and 
an   Indian   boarding   school    at   Colville.      The 


received    a    just    settlement.     In    1869    Bishop 
Blanchet  was  forced  to  resign  by  his  exhausted 


College  of  St.   Patrick  was  founded  at  Walla-  health  and  advanced  years,  when  he  transferred 

Walla  and  the  College  of  the  Holy  Angels  at  the  Diocese  to  his  successor,  Dr.  Junger,  with 

Vancouver.     The  Catholic  Church  claim  to  St.  one  hundred  altars,  thirty-two  priests,  eighteen 

James'    mission    lands    at   Vancouver,    though  colleges    and    schools,   and    fourteen    thousand 

ably  presented  by  Bishop  Blanchet  and  Father  Catholics. 


DIOCESE  OF  VANCOUVER'S  ISLAND. 


THE   Diocese  of  Vancouver's  Island   is   the 
only    American    Diocese   whose   territories    are 


Right  Rev.  J.  N.  Leinmens,  Bishop  of  Vancouver's  Island. 

under  two  different  national  flags.  The  Diocese 
embraces  Vancouver's  Island,  in  British  Colum 
bia,  and  Alaska,  in  the  United  States.  This  re 
mote  and  desolate  region  became  the  apostolate 
of  the  good  and  great  Bishop  Modest  Demers, 

the  companion  of  Archbishop  Blanchet,  in  1847, 
*  * 


when  the  See  was  erected,  and  for  nearly  forty 
years  he  labored  for  both  the  whites  and  Indians 
with  saintly  zeal.  From  1863  the  illustrious 
Father  Seghers  was  his  co-laborer.  In  1871,  on 
July  28,  Bishop  Demers  died,  leaving  missions, 
churches,  ^priests,  schools  and  institutions  of 
charity  to  this  vast  region,  which  he  was  the 
first  priest  to  enter.  For  two  years  the  Diocese  was 
administered  by  Rev.  Charles  John  Seghers,  who 
succeeded  as  Bishop  of  Vancouver's  Island,  and 
who  was  consecrated  at  Oregon  City  by  Arch 
bishop  Blanchet  on  July  6,  1873.  Bishop 
Seghers  gave  a  more  perfect  organization  to  the 
Diocese,  and  with  apostolic  zeal  continued  the 
work  of  Bishop  Demers.  New  churches  were 
built,  schools  established  and  missions  started. 
St.  Joseph's  magnificent  hospital  was  erected 
at  Victoria.  Alaska,  larger  than  all  New  England, 
with  sixty  thousand  Indians,  all  pagans,  and 
whose  soil  a  priest  had  never  trod,  was  evan 
gelized  by  Bishop  Seghers  to  the  best  of  his 
personal  labors  and  travels.  This  wilderness 
was  consecrated  to  the  Sacred  Heart  in  1874. 
Nearly  forty  thousand  Indians  were  taught  to  say 
their  prayers  to  the  true  God,  one  thousand  were 
baptized  in  one  year  and  regular  missions  founded. 
In  1879  Bishop  Seghers  became  Co-adjutor  and 
administrator  of  Oregon  as  Archbishop  Emesa ; 
in  1883  he  became  Archbishop  of  Oregon.  Right 
Rev.  Dr.  Brondel  became  Bishop  of  Vancouver 
in  1879,  and  on  his  transfer  to  Montana,  Arch 
bishop  Seghers  again  became  Bishop  of  Van 
couver  in  1885.  Right  Rev.  John  Nicholas 
Lemmens  is  now  Bishop  of  Vancouver's  Island. 


96 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  OREGON  CITY. 


VICARIATE  APOSTOLIC  OF  IDAHO. 


IN  1838  Idaho  was  embraced  in  the  missions 


Church  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  Boise  City,  Idaho. 


assigned  to  Vicar-General,  afterwards  Archbishop 

Francis  Norbert  Blanchet.     The  Jesuits,  under     Centreville,  Pioneer,  and  Silver  City. 


Father  De  Smet,  commenced  in  1840  to  make 
missionary  tours,  and,  in  1842,  Father  De  Smet 
and  his  companions  met  the  Coenr  d'Aleine  In 
dians  ;  in  1844,  the  Kootenais ;  in  1845,  the  Nez 
Perces ;  and,  in  1860,  thirteen  families  formed 
the  first  white  settlement  in  the  south  of  Idaho. 
In  1868  the  Vicariate  was  erected,  with  Right 
Rev.  Louis  Lootens  as  Vicar  Apostolic,  who  was 
consecrated  as  Bishop  of  Castabala  on  August 
19, 1868,  and  in  consequence  of  ill  health  resigned 
in  1876.  The  Vicariate  was  administered  by 
Archbishops  Blanchet  and  Seghers  until  1885, 
when  Right  Rev.  A.  G.  Glorieux  became  Vicar 
Apostolic,  and  in  his  Biography  in  this  work  the 
history  of  the  Vicariate  of  Idaho  will  be  further 
sketched.  Bishop  Lootens  had  the  Sisters  of 
Providence,  of  Charity,  and  of  the  Holy  Names, 
and  built  churches  at  Idaho  City,  Placerville, 


». 

* 


PHOTOGRAVURE,   DEBBIE  Sc  HTJ  3  SON"  CO   L,T° 


REV.  WILLIAM  EL  GRO  S  S,  B.D. 

&rcM*r'j./istSls  f>y>  ('/ rftforts  T9  /7y  . 


MOST  REV.  WILLIAM  H.'  GROSS,  D.D. 


FIFTH   BISHOP  OF  SAVANNAH   AND  THIRD  ARCHBISHOP  OF  OREGON. 


RCHBISHOP  GROSS  is  a  strik 
ing  example  of  the  Catho 
lic  spirit  which  pervades  the 
Church,  for  on  a  single  day, 
February  i,  1885,  he  ceased  to 
be  the  zealous  and  active  Bishop 
of  a  Southern  city  on  the  At 
lantic,  and  became  the  father 
and  rnler  of  a  great  flock,  professing  the 
same  faith  and  obeying  the  same  spiritual 
authority,  in  the  most  distant  Northwest 
and  on  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Archbishop 
Gross  was  born  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  on  June 
12,  1837.  His  father  had  emigrated  from  Al 
sace,  then  a  German  province,  to  Maryland  before 
the  Revolution,  and  while  it  was  a  British  colony. 
On  his  maternal  line  he  is  of  Irish  descent ; 
hence  from  this  double  nationality  he  has  derived 
the  versatility  of  the  Irish  and  the  enduring 
perseverance  of  the  German  character.  After 
acquiring  in  Baltimore  his  preparatory  education, 
and  having  given  himself  to  the  priesthood,  he 
spent  several  years  of  close  study  under  the  Sul- 
pitians,  at  St.  Charles'  College  or  Preparatory 
Seminary.  As  he  progressed  he  developed  a 
preference  for  the  regular  religious  vocation,  and 
joined  the  Redemptorists ;  he  was  sent  to  con 
tinue  his  studies  in  the  Redemptorist  Novitiate  at 
Annapolis,  on  March  25,  1857.  He  made  a  thor 
ough  course  of  theology,  and  was  ordained  by  Arch 
bishop  Francis  Patrick  Keurick,  at  St.  Mary's 
Redemptorist  Church,  at  Annapolis,  on  March  21, 
1863.  His  first  duties  were  in  the  Union  hospitals 
near  Annapolis,  where  he  administered  consola 
tion  to  many  wounded  and  sick  soldiers ;  he  also 


announced  the  gospel  to  the  paroled  Confederate 
prisoners  in  camp,  and  looked  to  the  spiritual 
care  of  the  negroes  of  the  neighborhood.  He  was 
next  made  a  missionary,  and  accompanied  his 
Redemptorist  companions  in  giving  missions, 
preaching  and  hearing  confessions  in  all  parts  of 
the  country.  For  five  years  he  was  rector  of  St. 
Alphonsus  Church,  New  York,  and  of  Our  Lady 
of  Perpetual  Help,  at  Boston.  In  1873  he  suc 
ceeded  Bishop  Persico  as  Bishop  of  Savannah, 
and  was  consecrated  on  April  27,  1873.  He 
labored  successfully  in  Savannah,  built  its  fine 
Cathedral  of  Our  Lady  of  Perpetual  Help,  and 
introduced  the  Benedictines  and  Fathers  of  St. 
Joseph  to  assist  him  in  his  arduous  work.  The 
colored  people  of  Georgia  were  special  objects  of 
his  zeal,  and  he  opened  for  them  schools  in  many 
localities.  He  had  increased  the  equipment  of 
the  Diocese  in  1884  to  thirty  churches,  chapels, 
and  stations,  twenty-seven  priests,  three  male 
and  eight  female  religious  institutions,  three 
asylums,  and  twenty-five  thousand  Catholics. 
In  1885  he  was  appointed  Archbishop  of  Oregon, 
to  succeed  Archbishop  Seghers,  and  has  ever 
since  administered  that  Diocese  with  energy  and 
success.  The  Archdiocese  now  possesses  forty- 
three  priests,  of  whom  eight  are  regulars ;  fifty 
churches,  and  ten  chapels,  one  theological  and 
philosophical  seminary,  and  fifteen  theological 
students ;  a  Petit  seminary,  and  eleven  students ; 
two  colleges,  thirteen  academies,  nine  parochial 
schools,  with  an  attendance  of  over  two  thousand 
pupils ;  two  orphan  asylums,  one  hundred  and 
fifty-four  Sisters,  four  Brothers,  and  a  Catholic 
population  of  seventeen  thousand. 


(97J 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  BAPTIST  BRONDEL,  D.D., 


FIRST  BISHOP  OF   HELENA,    MONTANA. 


'EW  Bishops  or  missionaries 
have  had  such  varied  and  ardu 
ous  experiences  of  mission 
ary  life  as  Bishop  Brondel. 
Whether  in  Oregon,  Van 
couver's  Island  or  Helena,  the 
portion  of  labor,  travel,  hard 
ships,  struggle  and  self-sacrifice 
has  fallen  to  his  lot.  Right  Rev.  John  Baptist 
Brondel  is  a  Belgian  by  birth,  and  was  born  at 
Bruges,  in  West  Flanders,  on  February  23,  1842. 
In  his  native  city  had  just  about  this  time  been 
organized  the  zealous  educational  society,  the 
Xavierian  Brothers,  and  young  Brondel  was  one 
of  the  early  pupils  of  these  truly  Christian 
educators  of  youth.  His  education  was  thor 
oughly  followed  up  at  the  excellent  Diocesan 
College  of  St.  Louis,  at  Bruges,  where  he  became 
an  accomplished  Latin  and  Greek  scholar.  He 
was  marked  out  not  only  for  the  priesthood,  but 
also  prepared  himself  for  the  American  Missions, 
and  with  this  view  he  entered  the  American 
College  of  Louvain,  and  made  a  thorough  course 
of  sacred  studies.  He  was  ordained  a  priest  by 
that  eminent  Prelate,  Cardinal  Sterckx,  on  De 
cember  17,  1864.  Having  attached  himself  to 
the  Diocese  of  Nesqually,  then  under  Bishop  A. 
M.  A.  Blanchet,  Father  Brondel  made  the  trip 
to  his  distant  and  arduous  field  by  way  of 
Panama,  arriving  at  Vancouver  on  October  31, 


1866.  His  first  duties  were  combined  of  mis 
sionary  and  collegiate  work,  being  a  professor  at 
the  College  of  the  Holy  Angels,  at  Vancouver, 
and  attending  to  the  spiritual  wants  of  neighbor 
ing  Catholics.  Steilacoon,  on  Puget  Sound,  was 
the  principal  field  of  his  missionary  labors,  for 
here  he  spent  ten  years  of  laborious  and  zealous 
work,  and  one  intermediate  year  at  Walla-Walla. 
Not  only  did  he  serve  the  scattered  and  needy 
Catholics  of  the  mission  of  Steilacoon,  but  he 
also  found  means  to  build  churches  for  them  at 
Tacouia  and  Olympia.  Such  were  his  efficiency 
and  experience  that,  in  1879,  he  was  appointed 
Bishop  of  Vancouver's  Island,  and  was  conse 
crated  by  Archbishop  Seghers,  on  December  14, 
and  entered  at  once  on  this  vast  and  desolate 
mission  which  few  were  found  willing  to  accept. 
His  administration  was  so  successful  that,  in 

1883,  he  was  chosen  for  another  equally  difficult 
field,  the  Vicariate  Apostolic  of  Montana,  which 
had  been  erected  in  1868,  which  had  been  de 
clined    by  Father   A.  Ravoux,  and    had   been 
administered  by  other  prelates  until  the  courage 
ous  Bishop  Brondel  accepted  it.     The  Vicariate 
was  erected  into  the  See  of  Helena,  on  March  7, 

1884.  Dr.  Brondel  was  its  first  Bishop  ;  thirteen 
Jesuits    and   five    seculars  were  then    laboring 
there.      Now   it    possesses   in   addition   to    the 
equipment  already  mentioned  a  most  interesting 
series  of  Indian  missions. 


(98) 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  NICHOLAS  LEMMENS,  D.D., 


FIFTH   BISHOP  OF  VANCOUVER'S  ISLAND. 


'HE  Diocese  of  Vancouver's 
Island,  which  few  would  ac 
cept,  and  only  the  heroic 
Seghers  had  ever  sought,  ex 
changing  it  for  an  Archdio 
cese,  was  now  accepted  in  1888 
by  Right  Rev.  John  Nicholas  Lem- 
mens,  under  circumstances  of  the 
great  misfortune  realized  in  the 
death  of  the  administrator,  Father 
Jonkau.  Bishop  Lemmens  was  born 
at  Schimmert,  in  the  Province  of  Limburg,  Hol 
land,  on  June  3,  1850.  His  preliminary  studies 
were  made  in  his  native  town,  and  his  classical 
course  was  successfully  accomplished  at  the 
College  of  Herve,  in  Belgium.  He  accepted  the 
call  to  the  sacred  ministry,  commenced  his  theo 
logical  studies  at  Rolduc  Seminary,  in  Holland, 
carrying  off  everywhere  the  highest  honors,  and, 
as  he  had  consecrated  himself  to  the  American 
missions,  he  continued  his  sacred  studies  to  a 
brilliant  termination  at  the  American  College  of 
Louvain,  which  he  entered  in  October,  1872. 
At  the  same  time  he  attended  the  lectures  at  the 
celebrated  University  of  Louvain.  He  was  or 
dained  a  priest  at  Brussels  by  the  Papal  Nuncio, 
Monsignor  Catani,  now  a  Cardinal,  on  March  29, 
1875.  Before  ordination  he  affiliated  himself 
with  the  desolate  missions  of  Vancouver's  Island, 
and  as  he  was  about  to  start  for  his  distant  field, 
in  1875,  a  severe  attack  of  hemorrhage  of  the 
lungs  prostrated  him  ;  but,  in  1876,  he  made  the 
journey  with  another  devoted  Indian  missionary, 


Father  Nicolaye,  and  arrived  at  Victoria  on 
August  2 1  st.  His  first  mission  was  at  Nanaimo, 
from  which  he  attended  the  various  Indian  tribes 
up  to  the  north  of  Vancouver's  Island.  He 
imitated  the  glorious  examples  of  the  Blanchets 
and  of  Bishop  Seghers,  in  his  labors  and  in  his 
travels.  In  1882  he  was  appointed  rector  of  the 
Cathedral  of  Victoria,  and,  in  1883,  he  went  with 
Father  Nicolaye  again  on  missionary  labors 
among  the  Indians  on  the  northwest  coast  of  the 
island.  He  represented  the  Diocese  in  the  Third 
Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore  by  the  request  of 
Father  Jonkau,  administrator,  in  1884,  and 
thence  went  to  pay  a  visit  to  his  home  in  Hol 
land,  and  retui'ned  soon  to  his  Indian  flock. 
The  lamentable  death  of  the  murdered  Seghers 
made  this  unsought  Diocese  again  vacant,  and, 
to  the  joy  of  all,  Father  Lemmens  was  chosen, 
and  he  accepted  the  apostolic  task.  He  is  a  fine 
scholar,  a  linguist,  an  accomplished  theologian, 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  field,  and  an 
able  administrator.  Humility  at  succeeding  Arch 
bishop  Seghers  was  his  only  sentiment,  but  with 
obedience  he  accepted  the  call  of  Rome.  He  was 
consecrated  at  the  Cathedral  of  Portland,  Oregon, 
by  Archbishop  Gross,  on  August  5,  1888.  The 
Diocese  has  now,  at  the  beginning  of  1890,  five 
regular  and  twelve  secular  priests,  twenty-four 
churches,  forty-eight  stations,  and  five  chapels ; 
one  college,  three  academies,  five  parochial  schools, 
well  attended ;  two  orphan  asylums,  and  a  Cath 
olic  population  estimated  in  1886  at  five  thousand 
six  hundred. 


RIGHT  REV.  ^EGIDIUS  JUNGER,  D.  D., 

SECOND   BISHOP  OF   NESQUALLY. 

BORN  at  Burtscheid,    near  Aix-la-Chapelle,  qually,    to    succeed    the   most    worthy    Bishop 

in  the  Diocese  of  Cologne,  ^Egidius  Jun-  Blanchet,  October  28,   1879,  and  has   rendered 

ger,  after  a  youth  of  piety  and  study,  was  or-  eminent    services   to   religion   both   among  the 

dained   a   priest  July    26,    1862,    and   came   to  whites  and  the  Indians,  among  whom  he   has 

America.     He  was  consecrated   Bishop  of  Nes-  labored  most  successfully. 


RIGHT  REV.  A.  J.  GLORIEUX,  D.D., 


SECOND   VICAR    APOSTOLIC    OF    IDAHO. 


'IGHT  REV.  A.  J.  GLORIEUX 
was  born  at  Dottignies,  West 
Flanders,  in  Belgium,  on  Febru 
ary  i,  1844.  His  parents,  Au- 
guste  Glorieux  and  Lucy  Yan- 
derghinste,  were  pious  Catholics 
and  gave  their  son  an  excellent 
education.  After  preliminary  studies  at  home 
and  in  local  schools,  at  the  age  of  thirteen  he 
entered  the  College  of  St.  Amand  at  Courtrai, 
Belgium,  where  he  completed  his  six  years 
classical  course.  He  embraced  the  clerical 
vocation  and  dedicated  himself  to  American  mis 
sions,  and  thus,  in  1863,  ^e  entered  the  American 
College  of  Louvain,  where  he  made  his  philosophy 
and  theology.  He  was  ordained  at  Malines  by 
Cardinal  Sterckx  on  August  17,  1867.  On 
October  13,  of  the  same  year,  he  abandoned 
country,  family  and  friends,  and  reached  Port 
land,  Oregon,  on  December  8,  1867.  After 
spending  a  few  months  in  Portland,  as  secretary 
of  Dr.  Blanchet,  he  was  sent  to  Jacksonville,  in 
Southern  Oregon,  in  the  early  summer  of  1868, 
and  soon  afterwards  to  Roxburg,  where  he  at 
tended  several  dependent  missions  of  the  Pacific 
coast.  In  December,  1868,  he  became  pastor  at 
Oregon  City.  In  1869  he  was  sent  to  St.  Paul, 
in  the  French  Prairie,  the  cradle  of  Catholicity 
in  Oregon,  and  in  1871,  when  St.  Michael's  Col 
lege  was  founded  at  Portland,  he  was  appointed 
its  president ;  the  college  was  opened  on  August 
28.  For  thirteen  years  he  served  the  college  as 


president,  and  b\*  perseverance  and  able  manage 
ment  he  made  the  college  a  success.  In  the 
midst  of  these  arduous  duties  he  received  news 
of  his  appointment  as  Vicar  Apostolic  of  Idaho 
in  October,  1884,  and  as  such  was  summoned  to 
attend  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore. 
He  was  detained  during  the  winter  of  1884—85 
at  Baltimore  waiting  for  the  Bulls  of  his  appoint 
ment.  He  was  consecrated  at  the  Baltimore 
Cathedral  b}'  Cardinal  Gibbons,  assisted  by 
Archbishop  Gross  and  Bishop  Maes,  on  April 
19,  1885,  and  reached  Boise  City,  in  Idaho,  on 
June  12,  1885.  Bishop  Lootens  had  resigned  the 
Vicariate  on  account  of  ill-health,  and  it  had 
been  administered  b}-  the  Archbishops  of  Oregon. 
It  contained  twenty-three  hundred  Catholics,  of 
whom  eight  hundred  were  Nez  Perces  and 
Coeur  d'Aleine  Indians.  Bishop  Glorieux  visited 
nearly  the  whole  territory  in  the  first  year.  The 
Jesuits  have  charge  of  the  Coeur  d'Aleine  boj's' 
school  at  De  Smet  Mission.  The  Sisters  of 
Charity  and  of  Providence  were  introduced  and 
are  conducting  schools  and  academies.  Churches 
and  schools  have  been  founded  by  Bishop 
Glorieux,  and  the  Vicariate  now  possesses  fifteen 
priests,  of  whom  eleven  are  regulars,  sixty 
churches  and  nine  chapels,  four  academies,  and 
six  thousand  white  Catholics,  four  hundred  Xez 
Perces  Indians,  five  hundred  Cceur  d'Aleines,  two 
hundred  Kootenais,  making  a  total  of  seven 
thousand  one  hundred.  The  principal  Indian 
missions  are  under  the  Jesuits. 


(100) 


Cathedral  of  St.  Louis. 

CHAPTER  XI. 
PROVINCE  OF  ST.  Louis. 

History  of  the  Archdiocese  of  St.  Louis  and  of  the  Suffragan  Dioceses  of  Cheyenne,  Concordia,  Davenport,  Dubuque,  Kansas  City,  Leaven- 
worth,  Lincoln,  Omaha  and  Wichita. 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  ST.  Louis. 


[HE  Archdiocese  of  St.  Louis 
was  originally  a  part  of  the 
vast  Diocese  of  Louisiana,  of 
which  Dr.  DuBourgwas  Bishop. 
In  1823,  when  Bishop  Rosati 
was  appointed  Co-adjutor  to 
Bishop  DuBourg,  the  Papal 
Bulls  of  his  appointment  pro 
vided  that  after  three  years  the 
parent  Diocese  of  Louisiana  should  be  divided 
into  two  Dioceses,  with  their  Episcopal  Sees  re 
spectively  at  New  Orleans  and  St.  Louis ;  that 
Dr.  DuBourg  should  choose  which  of  the  Dioceses 
he  should  be  Bishop  of,  and  that  Bishop  Rosati 
should  then  become  Bishop  of  the  other;  and  in 
case  Dr.  DuBourg  should  die  before  the  expira 
tion  of  the  three  years  Bishop  Rosati  should 


succeed  him  as  Bishop  of  New  Orleans.  Bishop 
Rosati  was  consecrated  under  the  title  of  Bishop 
of  Tenegra  by  Bishop  DuBourg,  at  New  Orleans, 
on  March  25,  1824;  h£  continued  to  reside  at  St. 
Louis  until  Bishop  DuBourg  resigned  before  the 
expiration  of  the  three  years,  whereupon  he 
became  also  administrator  of  the  Diocese  of 
New  Orleans,  and  then  took  up  his  residence  in 
that  city.  In  1827  P°pe  Leo  XII.  appointed  him 
first  Bishop  of  St.  Louis,  and  then  he  removed 
to  St.  Louis,  but  continued  to  be  administrator 
of  the  Diocese  of  New  Orleans  until  Bishop  de 
Neckere  was  appointed  Bishop  of  that  See. 
Being  himself  a  Lazarist  and  Superior  of  that 
order,  he  retained  this  office  until  the  arrival  of 
Father  Tornatore,  in  1830.  The  Diocese  of  St. 
Louis  at  that  time  embraced  the  States  of  Mis- 

(101) 


102 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  ST.   LOUIS. 


souri,  Arkansas,  two-thirds  of  Illinois  and  the 
territories  stretching  northward  beyond  the 
sources  of  the  Mississippi  and  westward  beyond 
the  sources  of  the  Missouri  River,  with  the  ex 
ception  of  fifteen  or  twenty  small  towns  or  vil 
lages  inhabited  by  French  or  Spanish  settlers. 
Bishop  Rosati  did  much  to  restore  religion  and 
education  in  his  vast  Diocese.  The  Lazarists, 
Jesuits,  the  Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  Sisters 
of  St.  Joseph,  of  the  Visitation,  of  Charity,  and 
other  religious  bodies  were  encouraged  and 
assisted  in  founding  new  houses  and  in  extend 
ing  their  institutions.  The  St.  Louis  Hospital, 
under  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  was  founded,  and 
in  1840  received  as  many  as  twelve  hundred 
patients.  In  1834,  on  October  28,  the  Cathedral 
of  St.  Louis  was  consecrated  after  having  been 
several  years  in  building.  In  the  Councils  of 
Baltimore  the  Diocese  was  well  represented  by 
Bishop  Rosati.  In  1840,  by  the  recommendation 
of  the  Council  of  Baltimore,  a  co-adjutor  Bishop 
was  provided  for  St.  Louis.  Rev.  John  Timon 
was  appointed  to  this  office,  but  he  returned  the 
Bulls  to  Rome.  Rev.  Peter  Richard  Kenrick 
was  next  chosen,  and  he  was  consecrated  by 
Bishop  Rosati,  at  Philadelphia,  on  November  30, 
1841,  under  the  title  of  Bishop  of  Drasa.  The 
Diocese  was  governed  by  Bishop  Keurick  during 
Bishop  Rosati's  absence  on  a  mission  to  the 
Island  of  Hayti  for  the  Holy  See  ;  Dr.  Kenrick 
having  been  also  designated  as  administrator  for 
that  purpose,  from  1842  until  the  death  of 
Bishop  Rosati,  at  Rome,  on  September  25,  1843. 
On  the  death  of  Bishop  Rosati,  Dr.  Kenrick 
became  Bishop  of  St.  Louis.  At  this  time  the 
city  of  St.  Louis  oossessed  four  churches,  besides 


the  chapel  of  the  seminary,  two  of  which  were 
German,  and  the  Diocese  possessed  sixty-two 
churches  built  and  nine  building,  and  sixty  other 
stations,  eighty-five  priests,  of  which  sixty-four 
were  on  the  mission,  forty-six  clerical  students 
and  three  ecclesiastical  seminaries,  three  Indian 
missions,  two  colleges,  ten  convents  and  female 
schools,  six  parochial  schools,  seven  charitable 
institutions  and  a  Catholic  population  of  one 
hundred  thousand.  St.  Louis  University  was 
then  in  full  operation,  and  in  the  hands  of  the 
Jesuits.  The  Lazarists  and  Jesuits  were 
efficient  laborers  in  the  Diocese.  The  Lazarists 
were  conducting  the  Theological  Seminary  of 
St.  Louis.  The  Diocese  of  St.  Louis  has  been 
a  parent  Diocese,  for  out  of  its  original  territory 
have  been  carved  the  Diocese  of  Little  Rock,  in 
1843  >  °f  Chicago,  in  1844 ;  of  the  Vicariates 
Apostolic  of  the  Indian  Territory,  in  1851  ;  of  St. 
Joseph,  1868;  of  Kansas  City,  in  1880;  of 
Cheyenne,  in  1887;  of  Concordia,  in  1887;  Dti- 
buque,  in  1837;  of  Davenport,  in  1881;  Leaven- 
worth,  in  1877  ;  Lincoln,  in  1887  ;  Omaha,  in 
1885  ;  and  Wichita,  in  1887.  The  ecclesiastical 
Province  of  St.  Louis  was  erected  in  1847,  when 
St.  Louis  became  an  Archiepiscopal  See,  with 
the  Bishops  of  Dubuque,  Nashville,  Chicago  and 
Milwaukee  as  Suffragans.  Two  of  these  Dio 
ceses,  Chicago  and  Milwaukee,  have  since  them 
selves  become  Metropolitan  Sees.  The  Arch 
diocese  of  St.  Louis  now  has  nine  Suffragan 
Dioceses  within  its  province.  The  further 
history  of  the  Archdiocese  will  be  given  in  the 
biography  of  Archbishop  Kenrick,  forming  a 
part  of  this  work.  His  long  life  embraces  the 
history  of  his  Diocese. 


DIOCESE  OF  CHEYENNE. 


St.  Mary's  Cathedral,  Cheyenne,  Wyomiug  Territory 


THE  Diocese  of  Che3^enne  was  erected  by  Pope 
Leo  XIII.,  on  August  9,  1887,  and  it  embraces 
the  Territory  of  Wyoming.  The  first  Bishop 
of  the  new  Diocese  is  Right  Rev.  Maurice  F. 
Burke.  The  religious  communities  of  the  Dio 
cese  are  the  Jesuits,  who  have  charge  of  St. 
Stephen's  Indian  Mission,  the  Sisters  of 
Charity,  who  have  schools  at  Laramie  City  and 
Landor,  and  a  hospital  at  Laramie  City,  and  the 
Sisters  of  the  Holy  Child  Jesus,  who  have  a 
school  at  Cheyenne.  The  missions  of  Cheyenne 
are  laborious,  as  can  be  seen  from  the  fact  that 


DIOCESES   OF  CONCORDIA   AND   DAVENPORT. 


icn 


many  missions  are  attended  from  a  single  centre, 
Cheyenne,    for    instance,  being   the    centre   of 


twelve  other  missions.     The  Diocese  is  making 
rapid  and  solid  progress  under  its  first  Bishop. 


DIOCESE  OF  CONCORDIA. 


Our  Lady  of  Help,  Cathedral  Church,  Concordia,  Kansas. 


THIS  new  and  flourishing  Diocese  was  estab 
lished  by  Pope  Leo  XIII.,  on  August  2,  1887, 
and  Right  Rev.  Richard  Scannell,  the  present 
incumbent,  is  the  first  Bishop.  The  Diocese  has 
been  organized  by  the  appointment  of  Vicar- 
General,  Consultors  and  Deans.  The  Capuchins 
have  a  house  of  their  order  at  Victoria  and 
several  missions,  and  the  Fathers  of  the  Most 
Precious  Blood  have  also  charge  of  several 
flourishing  missions.  The  religious  communities 
doing  a  good  and  noble  work  in  the  Diocese  are 
the  Sisters  of  the  Most  Precious  Blood,  the 
Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  and 
the  Sisters  of  St.  Agnes.  The  works  of  erecting 
churches  and  parochial  schools  have  been  com 
menced  and  prosecuted  side  by  side,  and,  besides 
these,  other  works  of  education  and  charity  have 
been  successfully  begun. 


DIOCESE  OF  DAVENPORT. 


THE  Diocese  of  Davenport,  comprising  that 
part  of  Iowa  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  Missis 
sippi  River,  on  the  west  by  the  Missouri  River,  on 
the  south  by  the  State  of  Missouri,  and  on  the 
north  by  the  northern  boundaries  of  the  counties 
of  Harrison,  Shelby,  Audubon,  Guthrie,  Dallas, 
Polk,  Jasper,  Poweshiek,  Iowa,  Johnson,  Cedar 
and  Scott,  was  erected  in  1881.  It  is  three 
hundred  miles  long  and  ninety  in  breadth.  The 
Catholics  were  scattered  over  this  extensive 
field.  There  were  seventy-six  priests  and  one 
hundred  and  forty  churches  and  stations.  The 
zealous  and  self-sacrificing  labors  of  the  first 
Bishop,  Right  Rev.  John  McMullen,  who  was 
consecrated  by  the  Most  Rev.  Archbishop 
Feehan,  of  Chicago,  on  July  25,  1881,  did 
much  to  organize  small  congregations  wher 
ever  a  few  Catholics  could  be  found,  and  to  im 
prove  the  religious  and  educational  condition 
of  existing  congregations.  The  Benedictine 
Fathers  were  already  at  work  in  the  Diocese  in 
the  missions,  and  they  also  had  St.  Malachy's 
Priory.  The  female  religious  communities  were 
the  Visitation  Nuns,  the  Sisters  of  the  Humility 


of  Mary,  Sisters  of   Mercy,  Sisters  of  Charity 


Sacred  Heart  Cathedral,  Davon 


of    the    Blessed    Virgin    Mary,  Sisters    of   St. 
Francis,  the   Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  and  the 


104  ARCHDIOCESE  OF  ST.  LOUIS. 

Sisters  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary.     The  Dio-     July  4,  1883.     The  Church  of  Davenport  was 

cese  also  possessed  the  Mercy  Hospital,  founded  generously  donated  with  the  lands  on    the J  Iiii, 

in  1869  by  Father  Pelamourgues  and  Bishop  by  Anthony  and  Margaret  Le  Claire.  Bishop 
Hennessey,  the  Hospital  for  Idiots  and  Hospital  McMullen  was  succeeded  by  the  Right  Rev. 
of  St  John  of  God.  Bishop  McMullen  died  on  Henry  Cosgrove,  his  Vicar-General. 


DIOCESE  OF 

THE  Fathers  of  the  Third  Provincial  Council 
of  Baltimore  in  April,  1837,  recommended  the 
erection  of  the  See  of  Dubuque,  embracing  the 
Territories  of  Iowa  and  Minnesota.  The  Holy 
See  decreed  accordingly  on  July  28,  appointed 


St.  Raphael's  Cathedral,  Dubuque,  Iowa. 

Right  Rev.  Mathias  Loras  as  first  Bishop,  and 
Dr.  Loras  was  consecrated  at  Mobile  by  Bishop 
Blanc,  of  New  Orleans,  on  December  10,  1837. 
The  unfinished  Church  of  St.  Raphael  at 
Dubuque  was  the  only  church  in  the  Territory, 
and  Father  Mazzuchelli,  its  pastor,  was  the  only 
priest  in  this  vast  Diocese.  Two  priests  were 
procured  from  France  by  the  Bishop,  Rev.  Joseph 
Cretin,  afterwards  Bishop  of  St.  Paul,  and  Rev. 
A.  Pelamourgues  and  four  seminarians,  and 
after  his  arrival  from  France  with  these  recruits, 
Bishop  Loras  was  installed  at  St.  Raphael's  on 
April  19,  1839.  The  Catholic  population  of 


DUBUQUE. 

Dubuque  was  about  three  hundred.    The  pioneer 
priests  of  the  Diocese  were  Fathers  Mazzuchelli, 
Cretin  and  Pelamourgues.      St.  Raphael's  was 
finished  and   consecrated  on  August   15,  1839, 
and    in    its    rear   a   building   was    erected    for 
Episcopal  residence  and  seminary.    St.  Raphael's 
Academy  for  boys  and  St.  Mary's  for  girls,  and 
parochial  schools,  were  erected,  missions  started 
in  various  parts,  including  the  renewal  of  old 
French  missions  like  Prairie-du-Chien,  and  In 
dian  missions  were  commenced  among  the  Sioux, 
Sacs  and  Foxes.     The  cemetery  was  opened  and 
the  Mother  House  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin  Mary  was  founded.    Churches  were 
erected  in  many  places,  and  temperance  societies 
constituted  a  prominent  work  of  the  Diocese.  New 
Vienna,  Fort    Madison,    Big   Maquokety,    Fort 
Pierre,  Pembina  and  Council    Bluffs    were    all 
visited  and  ministered  to ;  and  then  they  were 
all  frontier  towns.     The  Brothers  of  Christian 
Instruction  were   introduced    into   Dubuque   in 
1851.     The  Seminary  of  Mt.  St.  Bernard  was 
founded.     In  1851  Minnesota  became  a  separate 
Diocese.     The    Sisters   of   the   Visitation   were 
introduced  at  Keokuk,  and  in  1849  the  Trappists 
came  and  founded  the  Monastery  of  New  Melleray. 
A  new  cathedral  was  commenced ;  the  corner 
stone  was  laid  on  November  14,  1848.     In  1855 
the  Catholic  population  of   Iowa  increased  one 
hundred  and  fifty  per  cent,  in  a  single  year. 
Bishop  Loras,  after  most  successful  results,  died 
on  February  18,   1858.     In   1856  Dr.  Clement 
Smyth,    a  Trappist  of  New   Melleray,  became 
Co-adjutor  of  Dubuque.    On  the  death  of  Bishop 
Loras  he  became  its  Bishop,  and  had  been  con 
secrated  under  the  title  of  Bishop  of  Thanasis 
on    May   3,   1857.     Bishop    Smyth    greatly   in 
creased  the  priests  and  churches  ;  New  Melleray 
became  most  flourishing ;  he  projected  the  orphan 
asylum,  introduced  the  conferences  of  St.  Vin 
cent  de  Paul,  and  added  many  admirable  works 
to    the    Diocesan    administration.     He    died    on 


DIOCESES  OF  KANSAS  CITY  AND  ST.  JOSEPH'S  AND  OF  LEAVENWORTH.   105 


September  23,  1865,  and  the  following  year  was 
succeeded  by  Right  Rev.  John  Hennessy.  The 
Diocese  then  possessed  fifty-eight  priests,  about 
ninety  churches,  twenty-eight  chapels  and  sta 


tions,  fourteen  convents,  ten  charitable  associa 
tions,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  ninety  thou 
sand.  Parish  schools  have  become  a  feature  of 
the  Diocese. 


DIOCESES  OF  KANSAS  CITY  AND  ST.  JOSEPH'S. 

THE  Diocese  of  St.  Joseph's  was  erected  March     Missouri  and  Chariton  Rivers,  and  Right  Rev. 

John  Joseph  Hogan  was  its  Bishop.  The 
Diocese  of  Kansas  City  was  erected  on  Septem 
ber  10,  1880,  and  Bishop  Hogan  was  transferred 
thither,  and  the  administration  of  St.  Joseph's 
was  added  to  the  charge  of  the  Bishop  of  Kansas 
City.  The  Novitiate  and  College  of  the  Re- 
demptorists,  at  Kansas  City,  and  the  New 
Engelberg  Abbey  of  St.  Benedict,  at  Conception, 
Nadoway  county,  are  prominent  institutions  of 
the  Diocese.  It  also  has  the  Sisters  of  St. 
Joseph,  Sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  of  Mercy, 
the  Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  Sisters  of  Mary, 
the  Ursuline  Nuns,  the  Benedictine  Sisters  of 
the  Perpetual  Adoration,  Sisters  of  Charity  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  Sisters  of  Mercy,  Sisters  of 
Loretto,  and  Sisters  of  the  Precious  Blood.  There 
is  also  St.  Joseph's  Commercial  College  at 
Kansas  City.  Bishop  Hogan  still  governs  both 
Dioceses  most  successfully. 


Cathedral  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  Kansas  City,  Mo. 

3,   1868,  and  comprised  Missouri  between   the 


DIOCESE  OF  LEAVENWORTH. 


IN  1851  the  Vicariate  Apostolic  of  the  Indian 
Territory  was  erected  by  Pope  Pius  IX.,  and 
Rev.  John  Baptist  Miege  was  appointed  Vicar- 
Apostolic.  The  Vicariate  embraced  the  immense 
domain  lying  between  the  States  and  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  Bishop  Miege  was  consecrated  under 
the  title  of  Bishop  of  Messana  by  Archbishop 
Kenrick,  of  St.  Louis,  in  St.  Francis  Xavier's 
Church  on  March  25,  1851.  The  Indian  village 
of  St.  Mary  was  his  Episcopal  city,  and  his 
Episcopal  palace  was  a  log-hut.  The  journey 
from  St.  Louis  to  his  See  was  then  a  most 
arduous  one,  and  the  Bishop's  companions  were 
Father  S.  M.  Pensighone,  a  veteran  Indian  mis 
sionary  of  Kansas,  two  Jesuit  lay  brothers  and 
two  Creole  wagon-men.  The  Indians  received 
him  with  joy.  In  August,  1855,  he  removed  to 
Leavenworth.  Many  churches  were  built,  and 
there  was  no  town  with  a  Catholic  population  in 
which  he  did  not  build  a  fine  stone  church  and 


equip  it.     In  towns  of  good  size  he  also  erected 


Cathedral  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  Leavenworth,  Kau. 

schools.     The  whites  were  organized  into  con 
gregations,    and     they    increased    from     seven 


io6 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  ST.  LOUIS. 


families,  in  1855,  to  many  thousands.  He  built 
the  cathedral  and  a  fine  Episcopal  residence,  and 
academies  and  schools  in  many  towns.  The 
Benedictines,  Carmelites  and  several  Sisterhoods 


adjutor  Dr.  Fink  in  1871,  and  after  a  life  of 
wonderful  labors  he  retired  to  the  Society  of 
Jesus  in  1874,  and  was  succeeded  by  Bishop 
Fink.  The  labors  of  Bishop  Miege  were  truly 


were  welcomed.     Bishop  Mi6ge  received  as  Co-     apostolic. 


DIOCESE  OF  LINCOLN. 


St.  Theresa's  Pro-Cathedral,  Lincoln,  Nebraska. 


THE  Diocese  of  Lincoln  was  erected  by  Pope  Leo 
XIII.,  in  1887,  and  comprises  that  part  of  the  State 
of  Nebraska  south  of  the  Platte  River.  The  Dio 
cese  received  as  its  first  Bishop  the  present  Or 
dinary,  Right  Rev.  Thomas  Bonacum,  and  it  has 
become  well  organized  with  council,  secretary 
and  chancellor,  diocesan  board  of  investigation, 
synodal  examiners  and  board  of  trustees  for  in 
firm  priests'  funds.  The  Jesuits  and  Bene 
dictines  are  laboring  in  the  Diocese  successfully 
on  the  missions,  and  the  Benedictine  Sisters,  the 
Sisters  of  the  Society  of  the  Holy  Child  Jesus, 
Sisters  of  the  Visitation  and  Dominican  Sisters 
have  convents  and  schools.  A  society  has  also 
been  organized  among  the  clergy  and  laity  to 
promote  Catholic  immigration  into  the  Diocese. 
The  Diocese  is  making  a  rapid  and  solid  growth. 
The  climate  being  beneficial  to  consumptives, 
the  Catholic  committee  on  immigration  have 
drawn  many  settlers  to  the  Diocese. 


DIOCESE  OF  OMAHA. 

THE  Vicariate  Apostolic  of  Nebraska  was 
erected  by  Pope  Pius  IX.,  in  1859,  and  he  ap 
pointed  Rev.  James  Myles  O'Gorman,  prior  of 
the  Trappist  Convent  of  New  Melleray,  near 
Dubuque,  Iowa,  its  first  Vicar  Apostolic.  He 
was  consecrated  under  the  title  of  Bishop  of 
Raphania,  by  Archbishop  Kenrick,  at  the 
Cathedral  of  St.  Louis,  on  May  8,  1859.  The 
Diocese  embraced  five  hundred  and  eighty  thou 
sand  square  miles,  and  included  the  State  of 
Nebraska  and  the  Territories  of  Montana  and 
Wyoming,  and  a  part  of  the  Territory  of  Dakota, 
an  area  now  containing  many  Episcopal  Sees. 
This  vast  Diocese  contained  only  four  priests, 
the  Catholic  population  was  small  and  scattered, 
and  the  only  churches  were  at  Omaha,  St.  John's 
and  Nebraska  City,  where  congregations  existed ; 
the  remaining  Catholics  were  either  individuals 
or  families  widely  apart,  or  Indian  tribes.  In 
1855  Mass  had  been  said  in  the  capital ;  in  1856 
a  small  brick  church  was  commenced  at  Omaha, 


St.  Philomena's  Cathedral,  Omaha,  Nebraska. 


DIOCESE  OF  WICHITA. 


107 


by  Father  Scanlan,  on  two  lots  given  by  Gov 
ernor  Cummings  ;  and  Father  Scanlan  had  been 
saying  Mass  at  the  Governor's  house.  This 
little  church  was  the  cathedral  until  1869,  when 
St.  Philomena's  was  completed.  Bishop  O'Gor- 
nian  was  an  energetic  and  successful  prelate. 
Missions  were  commenced  at  Rulo,  Brownsville, 
Elkhorn,  Souora  and  Fort  Randall,  and  the 
settlements  on  the  upper  Missouri  were  visited 
from  St.  John.  A  Jesuit  father  was  among  the 
Indians  ;  churches  and  schools  now  sprang  up  on 


all  sides ;  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  also  the  Bene 
dictine  Sisters,  and  these  Sisters  founded  acade 
mies  at  Omaha,  Helena,  Nebraska  City,  and  a  hos 
pital  at  Omaha.  An  episcopal  residence  and  a 
Catholic  hall  was  erected  near  St.  Philomena's. 
Bishop  O'Gorman  died  suddenly,  on  July  4, 1874, 
having  increased  his  churches  to  twenty,  priests 
to  twenty,  sixty  ecclesiastical  stations,  three  con 
vents,  and  nearly  twelve  thousand  Catholics. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  O'Connor,  in  Sep 
tember,  1876,  who  died  on  May  27,  1890. 


DIOCESE  OF  WICHITA. 


THE  new  Diocese  of  Wichita  was  founded  by 


Pro-Cathedral  of  St.  Aloysius,  Wichita,  Kansas. 

Pope  Leo  XIII.,  on  August  2,  1887,  and  it  em 


braces  the  southwestern  part  of  Kansas.  The 
first  Bishop  appointed  was  Right  Rev.  James 
O'Reilly,  but  the  Bishop-elect  died  before  conse 
cration,  on  July  26,  1887.  The  present  able  and 
successful  Ordinary  was  appointed,  Right  Rev. 
John  J.  Hennessy,  and  has  entered  upon  an 
active  organization  of  the  Diocese  and  of  its 
various  missions.  The  congregations  which 
have  been  formed  contain  from  five  to  eighty 
families,  and  the  priests  of  the  Diocese  have  each 
to  attend  several  missions.  The  Sisters  of 
Charity  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  are  conduct 
ing  All  Hallows  Academy  and  St.  Aloysius' 
High  School,  at  Wichita  ;  the  Sisters  of  Mercy 
have  Mater  Misericordias  Institute,  at  Wichita ; 
and  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  have  a  select  school 
at  Newton.  A  society  for  the  promotion  of  im 
migration  of  Catholics  to  Southwestern  Kansas 
has  been  formed  in  the  Diocese,  and  is  composed 
of  the  clergy  and  the  laity. 


MOST  REV.   PETER  RICHARD  KENRICK,  D.  D., 


SECOND   BISHOP   AND    FIRST    ARCHBISHOP   OF   ST.     LOUIS. 


ARCHBISHOP  KEN 
RICK  is  the  oldest 
American  Prelate, 
and  was  the  brother 
of  Archbishop  Fran 
cis  Patrick  Kenrick, 
of  Baltimore.  He 
was  born  at  Dublin 
on  August  17,  1806. 
He  made  his  theo 
logical  studies  at 
Maynooth  College.  After  serving 
as  chaplain  at  the  Carmelite  Con 
vent,  near  Dublin,  for  a  year,  he 
went  to  Rome  with  the  intention  of  joining  the 
Jesuits,  but  meeting  there  his  brother,  then 
Bishop  of  Philadelphia,  he  accepted  his  invita 
tion  to  go  to  Philadelphia,  where  he  became  an 
assistant  at  the  cathedral  in  1833,  pastor  of  it  in 
1835,  and  afterwards  professor  and  president  of 
the  Theological  Seminary.  He  was  Vicar- 
General,  and  for  a  short  time  editor  of  the 
Catholic  Herald.  He  is  the  author  of  a  book  of 
research  and  ability  entitled  Angelican  Ordina 
tions,  a  Month  of  Mary,  and  an  Account  of  the 
Holy  House  of  Loretto.  In  1841  he  was  ap 
pointed  Co-adjutor  to  Bishop  Rosati,  of  St.  Louis, 
and  was  consecrated  on  November  30,  1841, 
under  the  title  of  Bishop  of  Drasa,  by  Bishop 
Rosati,  assisted  by  Bishop  Kenrick,  of  Philadel 
phia,  and  Bishop  Lefevre,  of  Detroit.  During 
Bishop  Rosati's  absence  on  a  mission  to  Hayti 
for  the  Holy  See,  Bishop  Kenrick  was  adminis 
trator  of  the  Diocese  of  St.  Louis,  and  on  the 


death  of  that  prelate  at  Rome  on  September  25, 
1843,  Dr.  Kenrick  succeeded  as  Bishop  of  St. 
Louis.  For  nearly  forty-six  years  he  has  ad 
ministered  that  Diocese  with  ability  and  con 
servatism.  He  acquired  valuable  land  in  St. 
Louis  and  elsewhere  for  future  church  uses,  and 
founded  The  Catholic  Cabinet.  In  1843  the  city 
of  St.  Louis  had  scarcely  thirty  thousand  in 
habitants,  of  whom  about  sixteen  thousand  were 
Catholics,  and  three  parish  churches,  and  the 
Diocese  then  embraced  Missouri,  Arkansas,  half 
of  Illinois  and  the  Territories  of  Kansas  and  Ne 
braska,  Indian  Territory  and  all  east  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  In  1847  St.  Louis  was  erected  into 
a  Metropolitan  See,  and  Dr.  Kendrick  became  an 
Archbishop,  and  as  such  he  has  now  for  his 
suffragans  the  Bishops  of  Cheyenne,  Concordia, 
Davenport,  Dubuque,  Kansas  City,  Leavenworth, 
Lincoln,  Omaha  and  Wichita.  He  has  attended 
all  three  Plenary  Councils  of  Baltimore,  and  also 
the  Vatican  Council,  in  which  last  he  opposed 
the  definition  of  the  Dogma  of  Papal  Infallibility, 
but  has  ever  since  accepted  the  definition.  He 
has  had  as  Co-adjutors  Bishop  Duggan  and 
Archbishop  Ryan.  The  Archdiocese  of  St.  Louis 
now  possesses,  at  the  beginning  of  1890,  two 
hundred  and  eighty-three  priests,  of  whom  one 
hundred  and  six  are  regulars,  one  hundred  and 
ninety-six  churches,  eighteen  stations  and  twenty- 
seven  chapels,  two  theological  seminaries,  eight 
colleges,  fifteen  academies,  one  hundred  and 
twenty-four  parochial  schools  with  an  attendance 
of  twenty  thousand,  five  orphan  asylums,  and  a 
Catholic  population  of  280,000. 


(108) 


IN  MANU  DEI   SUNT 


COPYRIGHTTTC    t£09.BY  OEBB IE  Sc  CO 


GRAVURE,  OEBB  IE  8c  HUHPON  PO.L.T1 


MOST  REV.  PETER  RICHARD  KEKRICK,BJD. 


I'. 


RIGHT  REV.  MAURICE  F.   BURKE,  D.D., 


FIRST     BISHOP   OF    CHEYENNE. 


CCEPTING  a  vast  territory  as 
his  spiritual  domain,  in  which 
the  entire  Catholic  population 
numbered  only  forty-five  hun 
dred,  and  in  which  there 
were  but  eight  priests  labor 
ing,  was  a  courageous  act 
which  indicated  both  the  neces 
sity  and  the  willingness  of  the  new 
Bishop  to  organize  and,  as  it  were,  create 
a  new  Diocese.  Its  remoteness  and  the 
scattered  condition  of  Catholics  and 
missions  made  the  task  more  difficult.  Right 
Rev.  Maurice  F.  Burke  was  born  in  Ireland,  on 
May  5,  1845,  and  his  parents,  having  emigrated 
and  settled  in  this  country  in  1849,  they  brought 
Maurice,  then  only  four  years  old,  with  them ; 
they  settled  in  Chicago.  Having  adopted  the 
priestly  calling,  he  became  a  student  in  the 
Seminary  of  St.  Mary's  of  the  Lake,  in  Chicago, 
in  1863.  When  eighteen  years  old,  and  in  1866, 
he  was  sent  by  his  Ordinary  to  the  American 
College  at  Rome,  where  he  spent  nine  years  in 
making  a  thorough  course  of  theology.  He  was 
ordained  by  Cardinal  Patrizi,  on  May  22,  1875. 
Returning  to  Chicago  he  was  appointed  assistant 
pastor  of  St.  Mary's  Church,  where  he  served 
with  ability  and  zeal  from  1875  to  1878,  when 


he  was  appointed  pastor  of  St.  Mary's  Church, 
at  Joliet,  Illinois,  on  April  24,  1878.  At  Joliet 
he  was  eminent  for  his  energy,  activity  and 
enterprise,  for  here  he  built  the  Church  of  St. 
Mary,  one  of  the  finest  churches  in  this  country  ; 
here,  too,  he  founded  and  built  the  fine  convent, 
academy  and  male  and  female  schools  of  St. 
Mary,  under  the  care  of  the  Sisters  of  Loretto, 
and  other  judicious  and  successful  enterprises 
show  his  zeal  and  ability  in  the  church  and 
among  the  people.  The  new  Diocese  of  Chey 
enne,  Wyoming  Territory,  was  erected  on 
August  9,  1887,  and  as  all  had  to  be  formed  and 
organized  in  this  new  and  remote  region,  the 
Diocese  was  fortunate  in  receiving,  on  the  nomi 
nation  of  the  Bishops  and  appointment  of  the 
Holy  See,  so  admirable  a  Bishop.  Of  him  it 
was  said  at  the  time,  "  He  is  regarded  by  the 
people  of  Joliet,  irrespective  of  creed,  as  a  public 
benefactor,  and  is  in  daily  receipt  of  expressions 
of  their  esteem  and  regret  that  the  city  should 
lose  so  progressive  and  able  a  citizen."  The 
Diocese  possesses  now  six  priests,  nine  churches, 
forty-five  stations  and  five  chapels,  one  academy, 
two  parochial  schools,  with  an  attendance  of  two 
hundred,  one  Indian  school,  with  an  attendance 
of  one  hundred,  and  a  Catholic  population  of 
two  thousand  one  hundred. 


(109) 


RIGHT  REV.  RICHARD  SCANNELL,  D.  D., 


FIRST    BISHOP   OF   CONCORDIA,    KANSAS. 


provide  for  the  spiritual  wants 
of  an  extensive  territory  with 
a  scattered  Catholic  population, 
and  a  new  population  of  immi 
grants  pouring  in,  is  a  task  of 
no  ordinary  magnitude.  Bishop 
Scannell  has  courageously  and 
zealously  undertaken  this 
work,  and  his  past  experience  and  success,  and 
his  energy,  zeal  and  ability  already  exhibited  in 
organizing  and  equipping  his  new  Diocese,  give 
assurance  of  his  success  in  his  untilled  and 
difficult  field.  Right  Rev.  Richard  Scannell 
was  born  in  County  Cork,  in  the  Diocese  of 
Glogne,  Ireland,  on  May  12, 1844.  After  sound 
preliminary  instruction  at  home  and  elementary 
schools,  he  made  a  fine  and  successful  course  of 
classics  in  the  fine  school  of  Dr.  Riordan,  at 
Middleton,  County  Cork,  and  now  zealously  and 
promptly  gave  himself  to  the  preparation  for  the 
holy  ministry.  With  this  view  he  entered  the 
College  of  All  Hallows,  at  Dublin,  and  here  he 
was  distinguished  for  his  assiduity  of  applica 
tion,  quickness  of  acquisition,  good  example  and 
zeal  for  his  future  vocation.  After  completing 
his  philosophical  and  theological  course  with 
marked  success,  he  was  ordained  at  All  Hallows, 
in  the  early  part  of  the  spring  of  1871.  Having 


already  decided  on  seeking  the  American  mis 
sions  for  his  field,  he  became  attached  to  the 
Diocese  of  Nashville.  He  lost  no  time  in  coming 
to  Tennessee,  arriving  at  Nashville  in  April, 
1871,  and  has  ever  since  been  a  laborious,  zealous 
and  judicious  pastor  of  souls  in  that  Diocese. 
His  first  labors  were  as  assistant  at  the  Cathedral ; 
thence  he  served  for  several  years  with  great  suc 
cess  as  pastor  of  the  Church  of  St.  Columba,  in 
East  Nashville.  He  was  then  appointed  to  the 
important  and  responsible  position  of  pastor 
of  the  Cathedral,  at  Nashville,  where  he  gained 
still  more  the  admiration  and  confidence  of  the 
clergy  and  the  people.  On  the  promotion  of 
Bishop  Feehan  to  Chicago,  he  was  administrator 
of  the  Diocese  from  November,  1880,  to  June, 
1883.  His  last  important  service  was  the  estab 
lishment  of  the  new  congregation  of  St.  Joseph's, 
in  West  Nashville,  and  placing  it  in  a  fine  con 
dition.  He  was  appointed  Bishop  of  Concordia, 
Kansas,  on  September  25,  1887,  and  was  con 
secrated  on  November  30,  1887,  at  Nashville. 
The  Diocese  contains  twenty-five  priests,  forty- 
one  churches  and  thirty-one  stations,  ten  eccle 
siastical  students,  one  academy,  ten  parochial 
schools,  with  an  attendance  of  one  thousand,  and 
a  Catholic  population  of  fourteen  thousand  five 
hundred. 


(no) 


RIGHT  REV.  HENRY  COSGROVE,  D.D., 


SECOND   BISHOP   OF  DAVENPORT. 


ISHOP  COSGROVE 
was  the  son  of  John 
and  Bridget  Cosgrove, 
who  emigrated  from 
Ireland  to  this  country 
several  years  before  his 
birth  and  settled  at 
Williarnsport,  Pennsyl 
vania.  He  was  born  at 
Williamsport,  on  December  19,  1834.  In  1845 
the  family  removed  to  Dubuque,  Henry  then 
being  eleven  years  old.  Trained  to  love  the 
altar  as  an  acolyte  and  serve  Mass,  he  was  led 
to  adopt  the  priestly  vocation  at  the  early  age  of 
fifteen,  when  he  commenced  his  sacred  studies 
under  Father  Cretin,  and  followed  them  up  to 
a  successful  completion  at  St.  Mary's  Seminary, 
Perry  county,  and  at  the  Seminary  at  Carondelet. 
He  received  ordination  from  the  hands  of  Right 
Rev.  Clement  Smyth,  Bishop  of  Dubuque,  and 
was  the  first  priest  that  prelate  ordained.  On 
August  25,  1857,  he  was  sent  to  Davenport,  then 
in  the  Diocese  of  Dubuque,  and  assisted  Father 
Travis  at  St.  Marguerite's  Church.  During 
Father  Travis's  absence  in  Europe  he  managed 
the  affairs  of  the  church  for  a  year,  and,  in  1862, 
he  became  pastor  of  the  church.  He  proved 
himself  a  most  efficient  pastor,  and  did  all  to 
carry  forward  improvements  needed  for  so  large 
and  increasing  a  parish.  Among  his  many 


works  was  the  enlargement  of  the  church,  in 
1865,  and  the  erection,  in  1869,  of  a  fine  and 
commodious  school-house,  which  he  soon  had 
filled  with  pupils.  So  greatly  and  gratefully 
were  his  services  appreciated  by  his  congregation 
that  they  gave  him  an  unexpected  ovation  at  the 
silver  jubilee  of  his  ordination.  In  1881,  when 
Davenport  became  an  episcopal  city,  and  Bishop 
McMullen  was  selected  as  its  first  Bishop,  Father 
Cosgrove  was  made  Vicar-General  of  the  new 
Diocese,  and  in  this  office  rendered  invaluable 
services.  On  the  death  of  the  Bishop,  in  1883, 
Father  Cosgrove  became  administrator  by  ap 
pointment  of  the  deceased  prelate,  and  on  the 
nomination  of  the  Bishops  of  the  Province  and 
petition  of  the  clergy  of  the  Diocese  he  was 
appointed  second  Bishop  of  Davenport.  He 
was  consecrated  on  September  14, 1884,  and  soon 
afterwards  represented  the  Diocese  in  the  Third 
Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore.  He  has  made  a 
good  Bishop.  He  has  increased  the  churches  of 
the  Diocese  from  one  hundred  and  twenty  to  one 
hundred  and  fifty-two,  with  forty-six  stations 
and  fourteen  chapels,  in  1890,  the  priests  from 
eighty-two  to  ninety-one,  and  the  Catholic  popu 
lation  from  forty  thousand  to  fifty-six  thousand. 
He  has  added  in  many  other  respects  to  the 
working  equipment  of  the  Diocese,  which  has 
become  most  prosperous  under  his  able  and  ener 
getic  administration. 


** 


(in) 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN   HENNESSY,  D.  D., 


THIRD  BISHOP  OF  DUBUQUE. 


fO  the  distinction  of  having 
zealously  and  successfully  car 
ried  on  the  work  of  two  such 
Prelates  as  Bishop  Loras  and 
Smyth,  Bishop  Hennessy  has 
added  the  good  that  is  always 
accomplished  by  an  eloquent 
and  powerful  announcement  of 
the  Word  of  God  from  the 
Christian  pulpit.  Right  Rev.  John  Hennessy 
is  a  native  of  Ireland ;  from  early  youth  he  was 
studious,  and  having  devoted  himself  to  the 
priestly  office  and  labors,  received  ordination  in 
his  native  country.  He  came  to  labor  in  the 
American  missions,  where  priests  were  needed 
for  the  immense  numbers  of  Catholics  emigrat 
ing  from  Ireland,  and  he  commenced  his  mis 
sionary  career  in  the  Diocese  of  St.  Louis.  He 
was  pastor  of  St.  John  the  Baptist's  Church,  at 
New  Madrid,  Missouri,  1850,  and  subsequently 
was  pastor  of  St.  Peter's,  at  Gravois,  for  several 
years.  He  was  next  called  to  the  Theological 
Seminary,  at  Carondelet,  as  Professor  of  Dog 
matic  Theology  and  Holy  Scripture,  and  such 
was  his  usefulness  in  this  Diocesan  institution 
that,  in  1857,  he  became  its  rector.  He  next 
became  one  of  the  priests  of  the  St.  Louis 
Cathedral,  and  having  served  there  during  the 
civil  war,  he  became  pastor  of  St.  Joseph's 
Church,  at  St.  Joseph's,  Missouri.  Such  was 
his  ability  that  he  was  chosen  for  Third  Bishop 
of  Dubuque,  on  April  24,  1866,  and  was  conse 
crated  on  September  30.  The  Diocese  then  pos 


sessed  a  Catholic  population  of  a  hundred  thou 
sand,  who  worshipped  in  seventy-nine  churches 
and  were  served  by  sixty  priests.  The  missions 
of  Iowa  were  laborious,  but  the  work  of  the 
Bishop  in  meeting  the  countless  emergencies 
arising  from  a  vast  immigrant  Catholic  popula 
tion  was  greater.  Bishop  Hennessy's  energy 
and  zeal  met  every  requirement.  The  priests  of 
the  Diocese  were  increased.  St.  Joseph's  Col 
lege  was  founded,  and  the  Hospital  of  the  Sisters 
of  Mercy  was  established  in  1879,  both  at  Du 
buque.  In  1873  the  English  Benedictines  came 
to  the  Diocese  and  established  St.  Malachy's 
Priory  at  Creston.  So  great  was  the  growth  of 
the  Church  in  the  Diocese  of  Dubuque  that  it 
became  necessary  to  divide  it,  and  thus  the  new 
Diocese  of  Davenport  was  erected  in  1881,  leaving 
to  the  elder  Diocese  that  part  of  the  State  north 
of  the  counties  of  Harrison,  Shelby,  Audubon, 
Guthrie,  Dallas,  Polk,  Jasper,  Poweshiek,  Iowa, 
Johnson,  Cedar  and  Scott.  St.  Raphael's  Cathe 
dral  was  erected  and  dedicated  in  1884,  and 
there  followed  academies  and  schools  in  great 
numbers.  Bishop  Hennessy,  at  the  Third  Plen 
ary  Council  of  Baltimore,  was  selected  to  preach 
the  public  sermon  on  "The  Sanctity  of  the 
Church."  The  Diocese  now  possesses  one  hun 
dred  and  eighty-seven  priests,  one  hundred 
and  forty-five  clmrches,  and  ninety  chapels, 
sixty  theological  students,  one  college,  eight 
academies  and  eighty  parochial  schools,  with 
an  attendance  of  six  thousand  seven  hundred 
children. 


(112) 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  JOSEPH   HOGAN,  D.  D., 


FIRST   BISHOP  OF  KANSAS  CITY  AND   FIRST  BISHOP  OF  ST.  JOSEPH'S. 


AOHN  JOSEPH  HOGAN  was  born  in  the 
parish  of  Bruff,  County  and  Diocese  of 
Limerick,  Ireland,  on  May  10,  1829. 
His  first  studies  at  the  age  of  five  were 
at  the  village  school  of  the  Holy  Cross 
and  then  at  his  father's  house  under 
a  private  teacher  of  Latin  and  Greek. 
When  eighteen  years  old,  already 
aspiring  to  the  priesthood,  he  came  to 
St.  Louis  and  entered  the  Theological 
Seminary  of  the  Diocese  and  was  or 
dained  a  priest  in  April,  1852.  His 
studies  had  been  thorough  from  the 
beginning.  He  commenced  his  mis 
sionary  career  at  Old  Mines,  and  next  as  pastor 
at  Potosi,  showing  in  both  places  an  aptitude  for 
missionary  labor.  In  1854  he  became  an  assist 
ant  at  St.  John's  Church,  in  St.  Louis,  and  at 
the  same  time  chaplain  to  the  Male  Orphan 
Asylum  and  spiritual  director  and  confessor  to 
the  Sisters.  His  next  work  was  to  organize  the 
new  parish  of  St.  Michael ;  he  erected  the  church 
and  built  parochial  schools.  He  now  showed 
the  true  apostolic  spirit  in  leaving  the  parish, 
where  he  had  created  all,  for  a  remote,  vast  and  un 
provided  missionary  field,  Northwest  Missouri, 
which  had  neither  pastor  nor  church,  and  he 
founded  the  missions  at  Martinsburg,  Mexico, 
Sturgeon,  Allen  (now  called  Moberly),  Macon 
City,  Brookfield,  Chillicothe  and  Cameron.  After 
having  energetically  and  zealously  founded  the 
missions  of  Northwest  Missouri,  he  went  to  the 
South  and  commenced  a  similar  work  on  the 
State  border  near  Arkansas.  Here,  however,  the 
ravages  of  civil  war  prevented  all  his  noble 


efforts.  On  March  3,  1868,  the  Holy  See  erected 
the  See  of  St.  Joseph's,  containing  all  that  part 
of  Missouri  lying  between  the  St.  Louis  and 
Charitan  Rivers.  Father  Hogan  was  appointed 
its  Bishop  and  he  was  consecrated  by  Most  Rev. 
P.  R.  Kenrick  at  St.  Louis  on  September  13, 
1868.  The  new  Diocese,  embracing  parts  of  his 
former  missions,  contained  then  nine  priests, 
eleven  churches  and  fourteen  thousand  Catholics. 
Schools  for  boys  were  already  conducted  by  the 
Brothers  of  the  Christian  Schools,  and  for  girls 
by  the  Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart.  The  Bene 
dictines  and  Franciscans  were  received,  as  also 
the  Benedictine  Sisters,  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph 
and  of  the  Perpetual  Adoration.  'Schools, 
churches  and  institutions  sprang  up  on  all  sides. 
In  1880,  in  September,  the  See  of  Kansas  City  was 
erected,  containing  that  part  of  Missouri  south 
of  the  Missouri  and  west  of  Moniteau,  Miller, 
Camden,  Laclede,  Wright,  Douglas  and  Ozark 
counties.  Bishop  Hogan  was  appointed  its  first 
Bishop  and  administrator  of  St.  Joseph's.  The 
Redemptorists  came  and  made  Kansas  City  the 
centre  of  their  western  missions.  The  Little 
Sisters  of  the  Poor  opened  a  home  for  the  aged. 
Progress  was  made  on  all  sides.  The  two 
Dioceses  now  possess  sixty-three  priests,  forty- 
four  churches,  twenty-eight  stations  and  nine 
chapels,  one  college,  eight  academies,  one  orphan 
asylum,  four  hospitals,  one  Magdalene  asylum, 
one  industrial  home  for  girls,  a  home  for  the 
aged,  nearly  three  thoi:sand  children  attending 
parochial  schools,  and  a  Catholic  population  of 
twenty-eight  thousand  five  hundred.  Kansas 
City  contains  the  Novitiate  of  the  Redemptorists. 


("3) 


RIGHT  REV.  LOUIS  MARIA  FINK,  O.  S.  B.,D.D., 


FIRST   BISHOP  OF  LEAVENWORTH. 


!HE  Benedictines  have  given  to 
the  American  Church  some 
admirable  Bishops,  and  among 
them  is  Right  Rev.  Louis 
Maria  Fink.  He  was  born  at 
Triftensberg,  in  Bavaria,  on 
June  12,  1834,  receiving  at  baptism 
the  name  of  Michael.  After  pre 
liminary  studies  at  local  schools  he 
was  sent  to  the  Latin  school  and 
gymnasium  at  Ratisbon.  He  was 
an  early  aspirant  to  the  religious  life,  and  after 
his  immigration  to  this  country  at  the  age  of 
eighteen,  he  entered  the  Benedictine  Abbey  of 
St.  Vincent,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  was  professed  on  January  6,  1854, 
receiving  the  religious  name  of  Louis  Maria. 
After  a  thorough  theological  course  he  was 
ordained  on  May  28,  1857,  by  Bishop  Young,  of 
Erie.  After  zealous  services  at  Bellefonte, 
Pennsylvania,  and  Newark,  New  Jersey,  he  was 
sent  by  his  superiors  as  pastor  of  the  Benedic 
tine  church  at  Covington,  Kentucky.  At 
Covington  he  completed  a  fine  church,  and 
introduced  the  Benedictine  Nuns  and  con 
fided  to  them  the  female  parochial  school. 
Where  work  was  to  be  done  in  Benedictine 
missions  Father  Fink  was  sent,  and  such  was 
his  success  at  Covington  that  he  was  next  sent 
to  Chicago  and  stationed  at  St.  Joseph's  Church. 
Here  he  so  increased  the  congregation  that  the 
church  soon  proved  insufficient  for  them.  Father 
Fink  was  commissioned  to  erect  a  new  church 
and  this  he  did  with  great  success,  the  church 
costing  eighty  thousand  dollars.  He  also  erected 


in  St.  Joseph's  parish  a  fine  new  school-house. 
He  was  next  appointed  by  his  superiors  prior  of 
the  Benedictine  Convent  at  Atchison,  Kansas, 
and,  while  thus  engaged,  Bishop  Miege,  Vicar 
Apostolic  of  Kansas,  a  member  of  the  Society  of 
Jesus,  selected  and  asked  for  the  Benedictine 
prior  as  his  co-adjutor.  Father  Fink  was  ap 
pointed  to  this  responsible  office,  and  under  the 
title  of  Bishop  of  Eucarpia  he  was  consecrated 
by  Bishop  Foley  at  the  Church  of  St.  Joseph's, 
which  he  had  erected  at  Chicago,  on  June  n, 
1871.  He  became  an  invaluable  assistant  to  that 
untiring  Bishop,  Dr.  Miege,  and  when  he  was 
absent  managed  the  affairs  of  the  Diocese  with 
marked  ability.  In  1874  Bishop  Miege  resigned 
and  returned  to  his  brethren  of  the  Society  of 
Jesus,  when  Bishop  Fink  became  Vicar-Apos 
tolic  ;  and  when  the  See  of  Leavenworth  was 
created  on  May  22,  1877,  Bishop  Fink  was  ap 
pointed  first  Bishop  of  Leavenworth.  The  zealous 
Benedictine  missionary  and  priest  was  now  the 
no  less  zealous  Bishop,  for  churches,  schools  and 
institutions  were  multiplied.  St.  Benedict's 
College  at  Atchison,  the  Jesuit  College  of  St. 
Mary's,  and  the  schools  of  the  Benedictine  and 
Franciscan  Sisters,  and  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph, 
Sisters  of  Charity  and  of  St.  Agnes,  are  noble 
works.  The  Diocese  under  his  good  administra 
tion  now  possesses  one  hundred  and  twenty-four 
priests,  one  hundred  and  seventy-two  churches 
and  thirteen  chapels,  one  preparatory  seminary, 
twenty  theological  students,  three  colleges,  four 
academies,  fifty-five  parochial  schools  with  an 
attendance  of  4,600  children,  two  orphan  asylums 
and  a  Catholic  population  of  sixty  thousand. 


("4) 


RIGHT  REV.  THOMAS  BONACUM,  D.D., 

FIRST   BISHOP  OF   LINCOLN,    NEBRASKA. 


HILE  the  name  of 
Lincoln  is  indica 
tive  of  recent 
origin,  Southern 
Nebraska  has 
grown  to  a  mar 
vellous  develop 
ment,  and  the 
Church,  increas 
ing  with  equal  or 
greater  strides, 
now  makes  a  wonderful  exhibit  of  religious 
works  in  the  new  Diocese  of  Lincoln.  Right 
Rev.  Thomas  Bonacum,  though  of  Irish  birth, 
He  spent  his  life  in  our  country,  and  is  identified 
with  Western  growth,  for  he  was  brought  to  this 
country  by  his  parents  when  he  was  scarcely  a 
year  old.  He  was  born  near  Thurles,  in  County 
Tipperary,  Ireland,  on  January  29,  1847.  His 
early  education  was  obtained  at  St.  Louis,  where 
his  family  had  settled,  and  before  he  had  finished 
his  classical  course  he  accepted  the  call  to  the 
sacred  ministry,  and  made  his  classical  studies 
complete  at  the  Salesianum  or  Theological  Semi 
nary  at  Milwaukee.  He  made  his  theological 
studies  chiefly  at  the  St.  Louis  Diocesan  Seminary 
at  Cape  Girardeau.  He  was  ordained  at  St. 
Mary's  Church  in  St.  Louis  on  June  18,  1870,  by 
the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Melcher,  of  Green  Bay, 
in  the  absence  of  Archbishop  Kenrick  at  Rome. 
He  spent  a  few  years  in  active  missionary  work, 
and  then  viewing  the  higher  education  of  the 
clergy  as  of  vast  importance  to  religion  and  to 
Christianity,  he  went  abroad  and  attended  theo 
logical  and  scientific  lectures  under  Professors 


Hergenroether  and  Hettinger  at  the  University 
of  Wiirzburg.  He  returned  to  St.  Louis  well 
equipped  for  a  life  of  usefulness  in  the  Church 
and,  in  1881,  he  was  appointed  pastor  of  tl: 
Church  of  the  Holy  Name  of  Jesus  in  that  city. 
Such  was  the  zeal  of  his  pastoral  administration 
that  he  produced  a  marked  improvement  in  the 
flourishing  condition  of  the  parish  and  all  its  works. 
In  1884  the  Most  Rev.  Archbishop  Kenrick,  of 
St.  Louis,  appointed  him  his  theologian  to  accom 
pany  him  to  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Balti 
more.  When  the  new  See  of  Belleville  was 
carved  out  of  the  Diocese  of  Alton,  Illinois, 
Father  Bonacum  was  among  those  nominated  for 
the  new  See.  So,  too,  when  the  new  See  of  Lin 
coln  was  erected  by  the  Holy  See,  he  was  placed 
on  the  list  of  nominees  for  that  See  and  was 
chosen  by  the  Holy  Father,  Pope  Leo  XIII.  He 
was  consecrated  on  November  30,  1887,  and  went 
zealously  to  work  in  organizing  and  building  up 
the  new  Diocese  confided  to  his  care.  Not  only 
is  he  a  zealous  missionary,  he  is  also,  what  is 
important  in  a  Bishop,  a  learned  theologian,  ac 
complished  historian  and  a  scholar.  He  also 
possesses  solid  piety,  energy  and  good  judgment. 
The  young  Diocese  already  possesses  forty-three 
priests,  seven  communities  of  religious  sisters, 
with  fifty-nine  sisters,  nine  ecclesiastical  students, 
thirty-five  parishes  with  resident  pastors,  thirty- 
eight  missions  with  churches,  stations  without 
churches  forty,  and  five  chapels,  seven  convents, 
two  academies,  one  hospital,  eleven  parochial 
schools  and  a  Catholic  population  of  twenty 
thousand.  A  society  to  promote  immigration  is 
founded  at  Lincoln. 


*  * 


("5) 


RIGHT  REV.  JAMES  O'CONNOR,  D.D., 


FIRST    BISHOP  OF    OMAHA. 


"IGHT  REV.  JAMES  O'CON 
NOR,  a  brother  of  the  distin 
guished  first  Bishop  of  Pitts 
burgh  and  Jesuit  Father,  Dr. 
Michael  O'Connor,  possesses 
many  of  the  same  traits  of  char 
acter  and  much  of  his  nature  and 
acquired  ability.  His  early  ecclesiastical  educa 
tion  was  somewhat  under  the  advice  of  his  elder 
brother.  He  was  born  in  Queenstown,  Ireland, 
on  September  10, 1823.  He  showed  an  inclination 
for  the  priesthood  at  an  early  age.  He  came  to 
this  country  in  1838,  when  fifteen  years  old ;  he 
made  his  preparatory  classical  and  sacred  studies 
at  the  College  of  St.  Charles  Borromeo,  Phila 
delphia,  with  which  his  learned  brother  was  con 
nected,  first  as  professor  and  then  as  rector,  and 
finished  his  course  at  the  Urban  College  at 
Rome.  He  received  the  best  training  for  the 
priesthood  in  the  Propaganda,  and  was  ordained 
at  Rome  in  1845,  on  the  feast  of  the  annunciation, 
for  the  Diocese  of  Pittsburgh,  in  which  he  spent 
in  severe  and  zealous  missionary  labors  the  first 
seven  years  of  his  priestly  life,  of  which  Diocese 
his  brother  was  then  the  ordinary.  He  was  a 
priest  of  solid  attainments  and  learning  and  of 
sound  judgment  and  prvidence.  In  1857  ne  was 
appointed  Rector  of  St.  Michael's  Theological 
Seminary,  near  Pittsburgh,  this  being  the  Dio 
cesan  preparatory  school.  So  thorough  and  able 
was  his  administration  and  organization  of  the 
seminary,  and  the  distribution  of  its  various 
branches,  that  it  became  a  great  success  and  many 
sought  its  advantages.  In  1862,  such  was  the 


demand  for  admissions  that  he  had  to  enlarge 
the  institution  by  the  erection  of  another  wing 
to  the  building,  and  even  then  it  was  filled.  In 
1863  he  resigned  his  connection  with  St. 
Michael's,  and  was  almost  immediately  appointed 
Rector  of  the  large  Seminary  of  St.  Charles 
Borromeo,  at  Philadelphia,  and  was  also  professor 
of  philosophy,  moral  theology  and  ecclesiastical 
history.  In  1872  he  went  to  Europe  and  on  his 
return  was  appointed  pastor  of  St.  Dominic's 
Church  at  Holmesburg.  In  1876  he  was  ap 
pointed  Vicar  Apostolic  of  Nebraska,  was  conse 
crated  under  the  title  of  Bishop  of  Dibona  on 
August  20,  and  proceeded  without  delay  to  his 
arduous  labors  and  struggled  with  great  success 
in  promoting  missions,  church-building,  and  the 
founding  of  schools.  He  was  the  founder  of 
Creightou  College  in  1879,  which  he  placed  in 
charge  of  the  Jesuits,  and  he  called  the  Francis 
cans  to  his  Diocese.  He  was  one  of  the  Fathers 
of  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore  in 
1884.  In  1885  the  Vicariate  was  merged  in  the 
Diocese  of  Omaha  and  Dr.  O'Connor  became  its 
first  Bishop.  The  Diocese  now  possesses  seventy- 
six  priests,  of  whom  twenty-one  are  regulars,  one 
hundred  and  twenty-six  churches,  forty-seven 
stations  and  fifteen  chapels,  and  fifty-three 
parishes,  seven  religious  communities  of  men 
with  thirty-eight  members,  seven  of  women  with 
two  hundred  and  nine  sisters,  fifteen  theological 
students,  one  college,  four  academies,  thirty-three 
parochial  schools,  one  asylum  and  a  Catholic 
population  of  nearly  54,000.  Dr.  O'Connor's 
death  occurred  after  the  above  went  to  press. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  J.  HENNESSY,  D.D., 


SECOND   BISHOP   OF  WICHITA,    KANSAS. 


•,  HE  Right  Rev.  John  J.Hennessy 
was  born  near  Cloyne,  County 
Cork,  Ireland,  on  July  19,  1847. 
His  family  came  to  America 
with  him  when  he  was  three 
years  old  and  settled  in  St. 
Louis,  where,  after  some  pre 
liminary  studies,  he  made  his 
classical  course  at  the  College  of  the  Christian 
Brothers.  Here  he  graduated  in  1862.  Em 
bracing  the  ecclesiastical  state,  he  made  his 
theological  studies  at  the  Salesianum,  Milwau 
kee,  and  had  for  his  professors  Archbishop  Heiss, 
of  Milwaukee,  and  Bishop  Flasch,  of  La  Crosse. 
In  September,  1865,  he  entered  the  class  of 
philosophy  at  Cape  Girardeau,  in  Missouri,  and 
returned  to  the  Salesianum  in  1866.  Having 
received  minor  orders  and  deaconship  in  Septem 
ber,  1869,  he  taught  in  the  seminary  and  was 
ordained  priest  on  November  29,  1869,  by  dis 
pensation,  being  then  under  the  canonical  age 
for  ordination.  His  first  mission  covered  ten 
counties  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  with  his  head 
quarters  at  Iron  Mountain.  He  built  churches 
at  Doniphon  and  Gatewood,  in  Ripley  county; 
Poplar  Bluff,  in  Butler  county;  Grantville,  in 
Iron  county;  Bismark,  in  St.  Francis  county; 
and  completed  the  churches  at  Farmington  and 
Iron  Mountain.  He  next  established  an  Ursu- 
line  Convent,  in  1877,  at  Arcadia,  obtaining  the 
property  by  purchase  from  the  Methodists,  and 
placed  the  convent  in  a  most  flourishing  con 
dition.  In  1878  he  was  appointed  Procurator 


and  Vice- President  of  the  Board  of  Managers  of 
St.  Louis  Protectory.  In  February,  1880,  he  be 
came  Rector  of  St.  John's  Church,  in  St.  Louis, 
succeeding  Archbishop  Ryan,  now  of  Philadel 
phia.  On  August  28,  1888,  he  was  appointed 
second  Bishop  of  Wichita,  Kansas,  in  place  of 
Right  Rev.  James  O'Reilly,  who  died  before  con 
secration,  and  was  consecrated  by  Most  Rev.  Peter 
Richard  Kenrick  on  November  30  of  that  year. 
He  left  many  monuments  of  his  zeal  in  the  Diocese 
of  St.  Louis,  and  among  these  is  the  Reformatory 
school  at  Glencoe,  for  the  erection  of  which  he, 
by  the  appointment  of  Archbishop  Kenrick,  col 
lected  the  funds.  He  was  also  the  editor  of  a 
youths'  magazine,  called  the  Homeless  Boy, 
which,  however,  has  ceased  to  be  published.  It 
is  an  amusing  circumstance  connected  with  his 
appointment  as  a  bishop,  that,  having  accom 
plished  the  rare  feat  of  ascending  Pike's  Peak, 
he  received  congratulations  from  all  sides  at  his 
success ;  the  news  of  his  appointment  as  bishop 
was  received  at  St.  Louis  while  he  was  ascending 
this  great  mountain  elevation ;  and  when  he  re 
ceived  by  telegraph  congratulations  on  his  "ele 
vation,"  he  supposed  it  related  to  his  ascent  on 
the  mountain.  His  appointment  was  a  surprise 
to  him.  The  new  Diocese  now  contains  nine 
teen  secular  priests,  sixteen  churches  with  resi 
dent  pastors,  twenty-three  churches  without 
resident  pastors,  six  new  churches  building, 
thirty-one  stations  attended  and  two  chapels, 
one  academy,  nine  parochial  schools,  one  asylum 
and  a  Catholic  population  of  eight  thousand. 


("7) 


Cathedral  of  St.  Paul,   St.  Paul,  Minn. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

PROVINCE  OF  ST.  PAUL. 

History  of  the  Archdiocese  of  St.  Paul  and  of  the  Suffragan  Dioceses  of  Winona,  St.  Cloud,  Duluth,  Jamestown  and  Sioux  Falls. 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  ST.  PAUL. 


HE  Diocese  of  St.  Paul  was 
erected  by  Pope  Pius  IX.,  on 
August  9,  1850,  in  compliance 
with  the  recommendation  of 
the  Seventh  Council  of  Balti 
more,  which  assembled  in  May, 
1849.  The  Diocese  covered 
the  Territory  of  Minnesota,  and 
Rev.  Joseph  Cretin,  Vicar-Gen 
eral  of  Dubuque,  was  appointed  first  Bishop. 
He  was  consecrated  in  the  domestic  chapel  of 
the  Bishop  of  Belley,  in  France,  on  January  26, 
1851,  and  immediately  returned  to  the  United 
States,  accompanied  by  several  clergymen,  whose 
services  he  had  secured  in  France  for  the  mis 
sions  of  Minnesota.  Father  Hennepin,  in  1680, 
had  been  the  first  of  Europeans  to  visit  the  neigh 
borhood  where  St.  Paul  now  stands.  He  discov- 

(118) 


ered  and  named  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony,  and 
explored  the  Mississippi  between  the  Illinois  and 
the  Falls. 

In  1839  Bishop  Loras  and  Father  Galtier  vis 
ited  Mendota  and  founded  a  mission,  when,  with 
the  exception  of 'four  trading-houses,  all  was  wil 
derness.  Alongside  of  Mendota  the  Mission  of 
St.  Peter  was  founded,  and  at  the  opposite  bluff, 
then  called  "  Pig's  Eye,"  was  founded  the  Mis 
sion  of  St.  Paul.  Bishop  Cretin  visited  the  mis 
sions  in  1842.  Bishop  Cretin's  Cathedral  was  a 
log  chapel,  45  X  18,  and  his  residence  was  a  log 
shanty,  18  X  18,  and  the  clerical  force  consisted 
of  three  priests,  to  whose  number  he  added  six 
others  whom  he  brought  from  France.  New  ac 
cessions  of  priests  and  log  chapels  were  made,  a 
larger  stone  house  was  obtained  by  the  Bishop, 
and  this  served  for  cathedral,  seminary  and  school. 


DIOCESE  OF  DULUTH. 


119 


The  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  the  Brothers  of  the 
Holy  Family,  and  the  Benedictines  under  their 
prior,  Father  Wittman,  founded  at  St.  Cloud  a 
Benedictine  community,  the  beginning  of  a  fu 
ture  college  and  abbe}'.  The  Indian  missions 
among  the  Winnebagoes,  Ojibways  and  Chippe- 
was  were  restored  and  zealously  attended.  As 
the  schools  of  the  Diocese  were  a  heavy  tax  on 
Catholics,  in  addition  to  their  quota  of  the  com 
mon-school  fund,  Bishop  Cretin  applied  to  the 
Legislature  for  a  fair  share  of  the  school  fund, 
but  without  success.  In  the  single  year  1856 


Most  Rev.  Thomas  I/.   Grace,  D.D. 

the  Catholic  population  of  Minnesota  was  doubled ; 
at  the  end  of  1855  the  number  was  twenty-five 
thousand,  and  at  the  end  of  1856  it  was  fifty 


thousand.  Bishop  Cretin  died  February  22, 1857, 
and  was  succeeded  by  the  Dominican  Father, 
Thomas  L.  Grace,  who  was  consecrated  in  the 
St.  Louis  Cathedral  by  Archbishop  Kenrick  on 
July  24,  1859,  and  was  escorted  to  his  See  by  a 
delegation  of  the  clergy  of  Minnesota  on  board 
a  steamer,  as  there  were  no  railroads  to  St.  Paul 
at  that  time.  Northern  Minnesota  was  erected 
into  a  separate  Vicariate-Apostolic  in  1875,  and 
in  that  year  also  Bishop  Grace,  whose  health  be 
came  impaired  by  his  labors,  obtained  the  ap 
pointment  of  a  Co-adjutor,  Right  Rev.  John 
Ireland.  Dakota  in  1879  was  also  erected  into 
a  separate  Vicariate-Apostolic.  One  of  Bishop 
Grace's  earnest  labors  was  the  promotion  of  the 
cause  of  temperance,  and  for  this  purpose  he 
organized  numerous  societies,  which  acted  not  only 
within  their  respective  parishes  but  also  in  united 
conventions.  Bishop  Grace,  after  celebrating  the 
Silver  Jubilee  of  his  Episcopate  in  July,  1884, 
resigned  his  See  and  was  succeeded  by  Bishop 
Ireland.  Among  Bishop  Grace's  good  works  was 
a  school  for  dumb  mutes  at  St.  Paul.  In  1888 
St.  Paul  became  a  Metropolitan  See,  and  Dr. 
Ireland  became  an  Archbishop,  with  the  Vicar- 
iates-Apostolic  of  Northern  Minnesota  and  Da 
kota  as  suffragans.  In  1889  the  new  Dioceses  of 
Sioux  Falls,  St.  Cloud,  Winona,  Duluth  and 
Jamestown  were  erected  and  made  suffragans  to 
St.  Paul.  The  new  prelates  are  Bishops  Marty, 
Zardetti,  Cotter,  McGolrick  and  Shanley.  The 
Diocese  of  St.  Paul  proper  now  contains  one  hun 
dred  and  twenty-five  churches  and  the  same 
number  of  priests ;  a  theological  seminary ;  Ben 
edictine,  Franciscan,  Dominican  and  Marist  Fath 
ers  ;  Franciscan  and  Christian  Brothers ;  Sisters 
of  St.  Benedict,  St.  Dominic,  Notre  Dame,  Good 
Shepherd,  Visitation,  Christian  Charity,  the  Im 
maculate  Heart  of  Mary,  of  Mercy,  Little  Sisters 
of  the  Poor,  and  Poor  Handmaids  of  our  Lord, 
eight  academies,  sixty-two  parochial  schools  and 
fourteen  charitable  institutions. 


DIOCESE  OF  DULUTH. 


The  new  Diocese  of  Duluth  was  erected  by 
Pope  Leo  XIII.,  in  1889,  and  formed  of  the 
northern  portions  of  the  States  of  Minnesota 
and  of  the  late  Vicariate-Apostolic  of  Northern 
Minnesota,  heretofore  governed  by  Right  Rev. 


Rupert  Seidenbush,of  the  Benedictine  Order,  who 
has  resigned  on  account  of  his  health.  The 
original  Vicariate  of  Northern  Minnesota  was 
erected  on  February  12,  1875.  The  first  Bishop 
of  Duluth  is  Right  Rev.  James  McGolrick.  Du- 


I2O 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  ST.  PAUL. 


Church  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  Duluth,  Minn. 


luth,  named  after  one  of  Le  Salle's  companions, 
Daniel  Greysohn  du  Lliut,  who  rescued  Father 
Hennepin  from  the  Sioux  in  1697,  possesses 
three  churches  besides  St.  Clement's  Benedictine 
Priory,  one  of  which  is  French,  another  Polish. 
The  new  Diocese  now  commences  with  twenty- 
two  priests,  thirty-two  churches  and  ten  stations. 
There  are  Benedictine  Convents  at  Duluth, 
Moorhead  and  White  Earth,  Indian  Reserva 
tion,  and  Indian  Missions  at  White  Earth 
Reservation,  Fond  du  Lac,  North  Shore,  Lake 
Superior,  Otter  Tail,  Leech  Lake,  St.  Louis 
River  and  Red  Lake  Reservation,  and  at  many 
places  which  are  attended  from  the  above  named 
places  as  missionary  centres.  There  is  a  hospital 
at  Duluth  in  charge  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Bene 
dict.  Besides  the  Cathedral  of  the  Sacred  Heart, 
Duluth  contains  St.  Clement's  Benedictine  Priory, 
the  French  Church  of  St.  John  Baptist,  and  the 
Polish  Church  of  St.  Mary,  Star  of  the  Sea. 


DIOCESE  OF  JAMESTOWN. 


THE  new  Diocese  of  Jamestown,  embracing 
the  new  State  of  North  Dakota,  was  erected  in 
1889,  by  Pope  Leo  XIII.,  and  has  heretofore 
formed  a  part  of  the  Vicariate-Apostolic  of  Da 
kota,  governed  by  Right  Rev.  Martin  Marty,  of 
the  Benedictine  Order.  The  Vicariate  of  Dakota 
was  erected  in  1879.  The  Right  Rev.  John  Shan- 
ley  is  the  first  Bishop  of  Jamestown.  The  new 
Diocese  of  Jamestown  commences  with  fifty-three 
priests,  sixty-one  churches,  eighty-one  stations, 
attended  by  the  pastors  of  the  churches,  thirteen 
parochial  schools  and  a  hospital.  The  priests 
of  the  Diocese  are  divided  between  Seculars  and 
Benedictines,  and  the  Diocese  also  possesses  the 
Ursuline  and  Presentation  Nuns,  the  Sisters  of 
Mercy  and  the  Grey  Nuns  from  Canada.  The 
Indian  Missions  form  an  interesting  feature  of 
this  country,  and  these  missions  exist  among 
the  Chippewas,  Creeks,  Sioux,  Rees,  Gros  Ven- 
tres  and  Mandans.  At  the  missions  are  Indian 
schools  conducted  by  the  Fathers  and  Sisters, 


St.  James"  Pro-Cathedral,  Jamestown,  N.  D. 

and  these  schools  are  now  threatened  with  gov 
ernmental  transformation  into  "non-sectarian" 
or  infidel  government  schools. 


DIOCESE  OF  ST.  CLOUD,  MINN. 

THE  Diocese  of  St.  Cloud  was  erected  by  Pope  new  See  of  Duluth  the  territories  of  the  Vica- 
Leo  XIII.,  in  1889,  and  extends  over  a  portion  riate-Apostolic  of  Northern  Minnesota,  over  which 
of  the  State  of  Minnesota,  and  divides  with  the  Right  Rev.  Rupert  Seidenbush  has  presided 


DIOCESE  OF  SIOUX  FALLS,  S.  D. 


121 


Pro-Cathedral  of  the  Holy  Guardian  Angels,  St.  Cloud,  Miun. 


from  its  creation  to  the  present.  The  Right 
Rev.  Otho  Zardetti  is  the  first  Bishop  of  St. 
Cloud.  The  Episcopal  city  of  St.  Cloud  was 
the  seat  of  the  late  Vicariate-Apostolic,  and  now 
possesses  the  Cathedral  of  the  Holy  Guardian 
Angels  and  the  Church  of  the  Immaculate 
Conception.  The  Diocese  possesses  fifty-two 
Benedictine  priests  and  fifteen  secular  priests, 
twenty-one  young  men  preparing  for  the  priest 
hood,  twenty-eight  churches,  forty  chapels  and 
stations  regularly  attended,  and  contains  St. 
John's  Benedictine  Abbey,  University  and  Sem 
inary,  two  academies  for  girls,  twelve  parochial 
schools,  eleven  district  schools  under  Catholic 
teachers,  an  asylum,  three  hospitals,  and  a 
Catholic  population  of  thirty  thousand. 

Connected  with  St.  John's  Benedictine  Abbey 
and  University  is  St.  John's  Industrial  School 
for  Indian  Boys,  which  contains  seventy-one 
pupils.  At  Collegeville  is  also  located  St.  Ben 
edict's  Convent  of  the  Benedictine  Sisters,  and 
to  the  latter  is  attached  St.  Benedict's  Industrial 
School  for  Indian  Girls. 


DIOCESE  OF  Sioux  FALLS,  S.  D. 

THE  Diocese  of  Sioux  Falls,  comprising  the 
State  of  South  Dakota,  was  created  by  Pope  Leo 
XIII.,  in  1889,  out  of  the  southern  part  of  the 
late  Vicariate-Apostolic  of  Dakota.  The  Vicar- 
iate,  erected  in  1879,  received  for  its  first  Bishop 
the  Right  Rev.  Martin  Marty,  of  the  Benedictine 
Order,  and  embraced  all  Dakota.  Bishop  Marty 
now  becomes  the  first  Bishop  of  the  new  Diocese 
of  Sioux  Falls,  and  has  entered  vigorously  upon 
its  administration.  The  Episcopal  residence  is 
removed  from  Yankton  to  Sioux  Falls,  which  has 
but  one  church,  St.  Michael's.  The  new  Diocese 
commences  with  thirty-nine  priests,  seventy-six 
churches,  seven  academies,  fourteen  parochial 
schools.  Two  religious  orders,  the  Benedictines 
and  Jesuits,  are  laboring  in  the  Diocese  and  con 
duct  Indian  missions  and  schools  among  the 
Sioux,  Ogallala  and  Cheyenne  Indians.  The 
Benedictine  and  Ursuline  Nuns,  Presentation 
Sisters  and  Sisters  of  St.  Agnes  are  conducting 
academies  and  Indian  schools,  as  well  as  other 
institutions  of  education  and  charity. 


St.  Michael's  Pro-Cathedral,  Sioux  Falls,  S.  D. 


122 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  ST.  PAUL. 


DIOCESE  OP  WINONA,  MINN. 


St.  Thomas'  Cathedral  Church,  Winona,  Minn. 


THE  new  Diocese  of  Winona,  comprising 
nineteen  counties  of  the  State  of  Minnesota,  and 
heretofore  forming  a  part  of  the  Archdiocese  of 
St.  Paul,  was  created  by  Pope  Leo  XIII.,  in  1889, 
and  has  received  for  its  first  Bishop  the  Right 
Rev.  Joseph  B.  Cotter,  who  was  heretofore  the 
pastor  of  St.  Thomas'  Church  at  Winona, 
which  has  become  the  Episcopal  city.  The  new 
Diocese  begins  its  career  with  forty-eight  priests 
and  fifty  churches.  The  Jesuit  Fathers  have 
charge  of  the  fine  Church  of  Saints  Peter  and 
Paul,  with  four  Fathers.  There  are  an  Ursuline 
Convent  at  Lake  City,  a  Convent  of  the  Sisters 
of  the  Holy  Child  Jesus  at  Avoka  and  Waseka, 
Sisters  of  Notre  Dame  at  Mankato ;  and  there 
are  eighteen  parochial  schools  with  an  attend 
ance  of  over  twenty-five  hundred  children.  The 
Diocese  is  well  equipped,  but  its  fine  equipment 
is  the  work  already  accomplished  by  Bishop 
Marty,  and  his  labors,  now  reduced  to  a  much 
smaller  field,  will  prove  most  serviceable  to  re 
ligion,  charity  and  education.  Eighteen  paro 
chial  schools  speak  well  for  so  new  a  Dio 
cese. 


COPYRIGHTED  1889  BY  GEBBIE  *CO. 


GRAVURE,  GEBBIE  ScHUSSON  CO.L* 


MOST  REV.  JOHN  IRELAND, DoD. 


MOST  REV.  JOHN   IRELAND,  D.  D., 

THIRD  BISHOP  AND   FIRST  ARCHBISHOP  OF  ST.   PAUL. 


•  F  Archbishop  Ireland  had  no  other 
claim  to  distinction  in  the  Ame 
rican  Catholic  Hierarchy  than  his 
eminent  advocacy  of  the  cause  of 
temperance,  he  would  then  stand 
among  the  foremost  of  American 
Prelates.  But  beside  this  noble 
eminence,  he  is  among  the  fore 
most  rank  for  energy,  enterprise,  eloquence  and 
successful  works.  He  was  born  at  Burnchurch, 
County  Kilkenny,  Ireland,  on  September  n, 
1838,  and  his  family  immigrated  to  this  country 
in  1849,  when  he  was  eleven  years  old;  and 
finally,  after  a  short  sojourn  in  Vermont  and  at 
Chicago,  settled  at  St.  Paul.  He  attended  the 
Cathedral  parochial  school,  and  though  very 
young  showed  evident  signs  of  a  vocation  to  the 
holy  ministry.  Bishop  Cretin  saw  this  as  well 
as  his  remarkable  talents,  and  sent  him  to  the 
Preparatory  Seminary  at  Meximeux,  in  France, 
and  he  afterwards  made  his  theological  course  at 
the  Grand  Seminary  at  Hyeres.  He  returned 
to  St.  Paul  in  1861,  and  was  ordained  by  Bishop 
Grace  on  December  21.  His  first  service  was  as 
chaplain  in  the  Fifth  Minnesota  Regiment,  in 
the  civil  war,  a  movement  which  showed  even 
then  his  great  energy  of  character.  He  won  the 
respect  and  gratitude  of  all  who  saw  his  ser 
vices,  which  were  so  unsparing  as  to  impair  his 
health.  He  was  compelled  to  return  to  St.  Paul, 
where  he  was  appointed  Pastor  of  the  Cathedral. 
While  performing  active  and  secret  missionary 
duties  he  became  a  champion  of  temperance,  a 
promoter  of  Catholic  immigration  to  Minnesota, 
and  a  close  historical  student.  He  was  a  man 
of  mark  from  the  beginning.  He  was  appointed 


by  the  Holy  See  Vicar-Apostolic  of  Nebraska, 
under  the  title  of  Bishop  Maronea,  but  Bishop 
Grace  saw  how  great  a  loss  this  would  be  to  his 
Diocese,  and  he  went  to  Rome  and  secured  his 
appointment  as  his  own  co-adjutor.  He  was 
consecrated  on  December  21,  1875.  He  greatly 
relieved  Bishop  Grace  of  the  more  arduous 
labors  of  the  Episcopate.  His  temperance  agi 
tation  assumed  broader  and  more  systematic  pro 
portions,  and  numerous  societies  were  formed. 
He  led  in  the  formation  of  the  Catholic  Immi 
gration  Society,  which  resulted  in  bringing 
thousands  to  the  West  from  the  crowded  cities 
of  the  East,  and  added  greatly  to  the  Catholic 
population  of  Minnesota.  His  studies  of  history 
led  to  his  election  as  President  of  the  Minnesota 
Historical  Society.  He  took  an  active  part  in 
organizing  Catholic  Historical  Societies,  and  in 
getting  up  the  Catholic  Lay  Congress  at  Balti 
more,  in  1889.  At  the  Third  Plenary  Council 
of  Baltimore  he  preached  a  great  sermon  on 
"The  Catholic  Church,  equally  Opposed  to  An 
archy  and  to  Despotism,  the  Guardian  Society, 
the  Defender  of  True  Liberty,"  and  at  the 
Centenary  of  1889  he  preached  at  the  Vesper 
service.  He  was  prominent  in  founding  the 
American  Catholic  University.  He  succeeded 
to  the  See  of  St.  Paul  on  July  31,  1884,  and  was 
raised  to  the  Archiepiscopal  dignity  on  May  15, 
1888,  with  the  Vicars  Apostolic  of  Northern 
Minnesota  and  of  Dakota  his  suffragans.  In 
1889  he  secured  the  further  development  of  the 
Hierarchy  in  the  Northwest  by  the  erection  of 
the  new  Sees  of  Sioux  Falls,  St.  Cloud,  Winona, 
Duluth  and  Jamestown,  as  suffragans  to  St. 
Paul. 


** 


("3) 


RIGHT  REV.  JAMES  McGOLRICK,  D.  D. 


FIRST   BISHOP  OF   DULUTH. 


[HE  Right  Rev.  James  McGol- 
rick,  who  has  recently  been  ap 
pointed  by  the  Holy  See,  on  the 
recommendation  of  Archbishop 
Ireland  of  St.  Paul  and  his  col 
leagues,  to  assume  the  arduous 
work  of  organizing  and  govern 
ing  the  new  Diocese  of  Duluth, 
in  Minnesota,  was  born  at  Tipperary,  Ireland, 
about  the  year  1844,  and  received  his  primary 
education  at  home  and  in  the  schools  of  his  na 
tive  town.  He  next  studied  the  classics  at  St. 
Mary's  College,  London.  Having  while  yet  quite 
young  devoted  himself  to  the  holy  ministry,  he 
went  to  All  Hallows  College,  at  Dublin,  as  an  eccle 
siastical  student,  and  after  a  successful  and  cred 
itable  course  of  philosophy  and  theology,  he  was 
ordained  in  the  holy  priesthood  in  1867.  He 
determined  to  devote  himself  to  the  Catholic  mis 
sions  of  America,  and  having  been  received  as  a 
priest  of  the  Diocese  of  St.  Paul,  he  came  to 
America  in  1867,  and  soon  after  his  arrival  at 
the  city  of  St.  Paul,  in  that  year,  he  was  ap 
pointed  an  assistant  priest  at  St.  Paul's  Cathedral. 
After  a  year's  efficient  service  at  the  Cathedral, 
he  was  sent  as  pastor  to  Minneapolis,  and  com 
menced  an  active  missionary  career  at  that  place. 
Soon  after  his  arrival  at  Minneapolis  he  secured 
the  grounds  and  site  for  the  Church  of  the  Im 
maculate  Conception.  Having  erected  a  small 
frame  building  for  temporary  church  services,  he 
continued  its  use  until  the  new  church  was  ready 
for  divine  service.  The  Church  of  the  Immac 
ulate  Conception  was  the  first  church  erected  on 


the  west  side  of  Minneapolis,  and  is  one  of  the 
finest  churches  in  this  country ;  the  parish  and 
congregation  are  among  the  largest  in  the  North 
west.  Father  McGolrick  was  ever  since  his  ar 
rival  at  Minneapolis  among  the  foremost  movers 
in  all  Catholic  enterprises,  and  among  the  noble 
works  in  which  he  is  foremost  is  the  temperance 
cause.  He  is  himself  a  total  abstainer.  He 
organized  several  temperance  societies,  among 
which  are  the  Temperance  Crusaders,  the  Father 
Mathew  Society  and  the  Temperance  Cadets, 
having  a  combined  membership  of  between  three 
and  four  hundred.  As  a  citizen  he  has  always 
been  public-spirited  and  active.  He  was  one  of 
the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Exposition,  a 
prominent  member  of  the  Minnesota  Academy  of 
Sciences,  of  the  Associated  Charities,  the  Catholic 
Orphan  Asylum  Board  and  other  organizations. 
When  the  new  Diocese  of  Duluth  was  erected  by 
Pope  Leo  XIII.,  in  1889,  he  was  appointed  its 
first  Bishop.  Between  his  appointment  and  con 
secration  he  has  written  a  series  of  powerful  and 
unanswerable  letters  in  answer  to  an  attack  upon 
the  Catholic  parochial  schools  by  David  L. 
Kiehle,  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  of 
Minnesota.  He  was  consecrated  at  St.  Paul's 
Cathedral  by  Archbishop  Ireland,  together  with 
Bishops  Shanley  and  Cotter,  on  December  27, 
1889,  the  assisting  prelates  being  Right  Rev. 
Thomas  L.  Grace  and  Right  Rev.  Martin  Marty. 
He  lost  no  time  in  going  to  Duluth  and  com 
mencing  the  organization  of  this  new  and  prom 
ising  Diocese.  He  promotes  the  great  works 
conducted  by  the  Benedictine  Fathers  and  Sisters. 


("4) 


RIGHT   REV.    JAMES    McGOLRICK,    D.  D. 

Rishop  of  Duluth,  Minn. 


RIGHT   REV.    OTTO    ZARDETTI,    D.  D. 

Bishop  of  St.  Cloud,  Minn. 


RIGHT   REV.    MARTIN    MARTY,   D.  D.,  O.  S.  B. 

Bishop  of  Sioux  Falls,  South  Dakota. 


RIGHT   REV.    JOSEPH    B.    COTTER,    D.  D. 

Bishop  of  Winona,  Minn. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  SHANLEY,  D.  D., 


FIRST  BISHOP  OF  JAMESTOWN. 


f  f>HN  SHANLEY,  the  new  Bishop  of 
Jamestown,  in  North  Dakota,  is  a  na 
tive  of  Albion,  in  the  State  of  New 
York,  where  he  was  born  of  good  and 
zealous  Catholic  parents  in  1852.  In 
1857,  when  five  years  old,  he  went  to 
the  city  of  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  and 
there  he  received  a  good  solid  education 
in  the  local  schools,  and  was  a  good 
classical  scholar.  He  was  attracted 
while  yet  young  to  the  Catholic  priest 
hood,  and  all  his  studies  were  directed 
to  that  end.  Having  been  received  by 
the  ordinary  of  the  Diocese  of  St.  Paul, 
Right  Rev.  Thomas  L.  Grace,  as  a  candidate  for 
the  priesthood,  he  was  sent  to  Rome,  and  there, 
in  the  great  College  of  the  Propaganda,  he  com 
menced  his  theological  studies.  His  course  at 
the  Propaganda  was  distinguished  alike  for  the 
success  of  his  studies  and  the  good  example  and 
devout  character  of  his  conduct.  After  completing 
his  sacred  studies  he  was  ordained  at  Rome  by 
Cardinal  Patrizi,  in  May,  1874.  Returning  to 
St.  Paul,  his  first  missionary  service  was  as  an 
assistant  priest  at  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  of  which 
Father  Ireland,  now  Archbishop  of  St.  Paul,  was 
the  rector,  and  in  1875  he  succeeded  that  active 
divine  as  rector.  He  has  been  an  active  and 
zealous  advocate  of  the  cause  of  temperance, 
and  has  been,  throughout  Archbishop  Ireland's 
great  temperance  crusade,  his  firm  and  constant 
co-laborer  and  supporter.  He  has  organized 
several  temperance  societies,  and  supports  his 
advocacy  of  the  cause  by  his  still  more  powerful 
example  as  a  total  abstainer.  He  has  been  for 
some  time  a  member  of  the  Archbishop's  Council, 
and  in  this  and  other  ways  he  had  rendered 
valuable  services  to  religion  and  acquired  a 
knowledge  and  experience  of  ecclesiastical  aifairs. 
Father  Shanley,  while  serving  at  the  Cathedral, 
erected  the  handsome  four-story  building  named 


after  St.  Paul's  first  Bishop,  Cretin  Hall,  and 
which  serves  as  a  parochial  school  for  boys. 
When  the  new  Diocese  of  Jamestown,  North 
Dakota,  was  erected,  Father  Shanley  was  recom 
mended  and  appointed  its  first  Bishop,  and  he 
was  consecrated  at  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  together 


Right  Rev.  John  Shanley,  D.D. 

with  Bishops  McGolrick  and  Cotter,  by  Arch 
bishop  Ireland,  on  December  26,  1889.  The  new 
Diocese,  of  which  Bishop  Shanley  has  already 
assumed  the  government,  is  now  experiencing 
the  advantages  of  his  robust  and  energetic  ad 
ministration. 

(125) 


RIGHT  REV.  OTTO  ZARDETTI,  D.D., 


FIRST    BISHOP  OF    ST.    CLOUD 


*N  1889,  when  the  new 
See  of  St.  Cloud  was 
erected  by  the  Sover 
eign  Pontiff,  Leo 
XIII.,  it  was  provi 
dential  that  there 
was  at  hand  an  ec 
clesiastic  so  admir 
ably  suited  for  the 
incumbency  of  the 
Diocese  as  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Zardetti  was  univer 
sally  acknowledged  to  be,  by  reason  of  his  learn 
ing,  experience,  executive  abilities,  travels  and 
his  knowledge  of  languages  and  of  theology. 
Right  Rev.  Otto  Zardetti  was  born  on  January 
25,  1847,  in  tne  Swiss  Canton  of  St.  Gall,  and, 
after  having  made  good  elementary  studies  at 
home  and  his  classics  with  the  Jesuits,  he  made 
his  university  course  of  six  years  at  the  Univer 
sity  of  Innspruck  in  preparation  for  the  holy 
ministry,  and  was  here  ordained  in  1870.  While 
yet  only  a  deacon,  and  in  the  early  part  of  1870, 
his  friend,  Right.  Rev.  Dr.  Gresth,  Bishop  of  St. 
Gall,  carried  him  with  him  to  the  Council  of  the 
Vatican,  where  he  spent  six  months,  meeting  the 
great  prelates  and  theologians  of  the  world  and 
continuing  his  studies.  His  first  position  or 
employment  was  as  professor  of  rhetoric  in  the 
Seminary  of  St.  Gall  from  1870  to  1874,  and 
from  1874  to  1876  he  served  as  librarian  of  the 
famous  library  of  the  Convent  of  St.  Gall ;  dur 


ing  this  time  he  visited  England  in  1875  and 
became  acquainted  with  Dr.  Manning  and  other 
illustrious  Oxonians.  In  1876  he  was  appointed 
Canon  of  St.  Gall's  Cathedral.  He  wrote  and 
published  three  German  works  and  a  work  on 
Pius  IX.,  and  on  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Gall.  In 
1880  he  visited  the  United  States  with  Mr. 
Benziger,  the  New  York  publisher,  having  for 
ten  years  had  his  mind  and  heart  yearning  to 
join  the  American  missions,  and  now  with  the 
immediate  object  of  occupying  the  chair  of  Dog 
matic  Theology  in  the  Theological  Seminary  of 
Milwaukee,  the  Salesianum,  offered  him  by 
Archbishop  Heiss.  He  visited  the  East,  also 
California,  and  the  South  as  far  as  New  Orleans. 
In  1887  he  accepted  the  appointment  as  Vicar- 
General  of  the  Vicariate  of  Dakota  from  Bishop 
Marty.  While  thus  engaged  he  published,  in 
1889,  his  beautiful  little  work  on  the  Holy 
Ghost.  In  the  early  fall  of  1889  he  visited 
Switzerland,  went  to  Rome,  where,  on  September 
22,  he  received  his  appointment  as  Bishop  of  St. 
Cloud,  and  on  October  20  was  consecrated  at 
the  National  Church  of  Switzerland,  the  Im 
maculate  Virgin  at  Einsiedlen,  by  Archbishop 
Gross,  of  Oregon.  On  the  day  of  his  consecra 
tion  he  addressed  and  published  to  his  new  flock 
a  beautiful  Pastoral  Letter.  He  lost  no  time  in 
returning  to  America ;  has  taken  possession  of 
his  See,  and  is  zealously  engaged  in  organizing 
the  Diocese  and  providing  for  its  missions. 


(126) 


RIGHT  REV.  MARTIN  MARTY,  O.  S.  B.,  D.D., 


FIRST   BISHOP   OF   SIOUX   FALLS. 


£HE  new  Diocese  of  Sioux  Falls 
received  as  its  first  Bishop  a 
veteran  missionary  and  expe 
rienced  prelate ;  one  who  had 
already  for  nine  years  success 
fully  and  zealously  governed 
the  Vicariate-Apostolic  of  Dakota. 
,  Right  Rev.  Martin  Marty  was  a 
native  of  Switzerland,  where  he  was 
born  at  the  town  of  Schwyz,  on 
January  12,  1834.  Having  dedi 
cated  himself  to  a  religious  vocation  and  made 
his  classical  studies,  he  became  a  Benedictine 
novice  and  scholastic  at  the  Abbey  of  Einsied- 
len.  He  was  professed  on  May  20,  1855,  and 
was  ordained  as  a  Benedictine  monk,  on  Septem 
ber  14,  1856,  after  having  made  a  successful 
course  of  studies  and  prepared  himself  for  apos 
tolic  work  by  a  spiritual  life.  In  1854  the  Bene 
dictines  from  the  Abbey  of  Einsiedlen  founded 
St.  Meinrad's,  and  in  1860  Father  Martin  Marty 
joined  the  pious  community  ;  and  in  1865,  when 
St.  Meinrad's  Priory  was  established,  he  was 
selected  as  the  first  Abbot  of  St.  Meinrad's.  So 
great  was  the  success  and  prosperity  of  this  new 
community  that,  in  1870,  Pope  Pius  IX.  ad 
vanced  St.  Meinrad's  Priory  to  the  rank  of  an 
Abbey,  and  now  Father  Marty  became  a  mitred 
Abbot.  The  new  and  ample  Monastery  of  St. 
Meinrad  was  commenced,  by  laying  the  corner 
stone,  on  May  22,  1872,  and  under  his  adminis 
tration  finished.  He  was  zealous  and  active  in 
extending  the  buildings,  erecting  churches  and 


schools,  and  in  spreading  the  blessings  of  a 
Christian  education.  He,  however,  always  de 
sired  to  devote  himself  to  the  Indian  missions, 
and  was  one  of  several  Benedictines  that  went  to 
begin  missions  among  the  Indians  of  Dakota. 
Such  was  his  zeal  for  this  work  that  he  resigned 
his  office  as  Abbot,  and  devoted  himself  to  the 
religious  interests  of  the  Indians ;  and  in  1880, 
when  the  Territory  of  Dakota  was  formed  into  a 
Vicariate-Apostolic,  he  was  appointed  its  Vicar- 
Apostolic.  He  was  consecrated,  under  the  title 
of  Bishop  of  Tiberias,  on  February  i,  1880.  He 
attended  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore 
in  1884.  His  Vicariate  possessed  ninety  churches 
and  fifty  priests,  seven  Indian  missions,  and  Sis 
ters  of  St.  Benedict  and  St.  Ursula,  of  the  Pre 
sentation,  of  the  Holy  Cross,  and  the  Sisters  of 
Charity,  of  Youville.  In  1889,  when  the  Dio 
cese  of  Sioux  Falls  was  erected,  the  Vicariate 
possessed  one  hundred  and  thirty  churches  and 
ninety-four  stations,  ninety  priests,  twenty-four 
schools,  with  an  attendance  of  two  thousand 
pupils,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  eighty  thou 
sand.  At  this  time,  the  new  Diocese  of  Sioux 
Falls  having  been  erected,  Bishop  Marty  was 
appointed  its  first  Bishop,  and  was  transferred  to 
that  See,  of  which  he  has  already  taken  posses 
sion,  and  has  begun  the  work  of  diocesan  organ 
ization.  The  missions  of  South  Dakota  are 
under  their  old  missionary,  and  he  is  now  pro 
viding  effectually  for  their  successful  continu 
ance  and  expansion.  The  Jesuits  and  Benedic 
tines  are  laboring  in  the  Diocese. 


NOLITE    TIMERE   ILLOS 


(127) 


RIGHT  REV.  JOSEPH  B.  COTTER,  D.D., 


FIRST  BISHOP   OF  WINONA. 


N  that  part  of  Minne 
sota,  of  which  the 
city  of  Winona  is  a 
central  missionary 
point,  so  great  has 
been  the  progress  of 
religion  and  educa 
tion,  so  numerous  the 
increasing  and  grow 
ing  institutions  and 
needs  of  charity,  that  the  pastor  of  St.  Thomas' 
Church  finds  himself  to-day  advanced  to  the 
rank  of  Bishop ;  and  his  parish  church  becomes 
his  cathedral.  Such  sudden  and  rapid  changes, 
though  maturely  considered  beforehand,  both  by 
the  Bishops  in  this  country  and  by  Rome,  are 
striking  evidences  of  the  remarkable  advances 
made  by  the  Catholic  Church  in  our  midst,  and 
especially  in  the  Northwest.  The  Right  Rev. 
Joseph  B.  Cotter,  the  newly  consecrated  Bishop 
of  the  new  See  of  Winona,  was  born  at  Liver 
pool,  England,  on  November  19,  1844.  He  came 
to  this  country  with  his  parents  when  he  was 
only  three  years  old,  and  his  father  was  engaged 
in  newspaper  work,  first  at  Rochester,  New  York, 
and  then  at  Cleveland,  Ohio.  The  family  went 
to  the  Northwest  and  settled  at  St.  Paul,  Minne 
sota,  in  1855,  and  Mr.  Cotter,  the  father  of  the 
Bishop,  continued  to  work  on  the  newspapers  at 
St.  Paul.  He  was  also  for  many  years  the  clerk 
of  the  city.  Joseph  B.  Cotter  received  his  edu 
cation  in  the  schools  of  St.  Paul.  He  accepted 
the  vocation  to  the  holy  priesthood  while  yet 
young,  and  entered  the  Benedictine  Seminary 
and  College  of  St.  Vincent,  near  Latrobe,  in 
Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  as  a  stu 


dent  of  theology,  and  afterwards  continued  his 
sacred  studies  at  the  Benedictine  Seminary  of 
St.  John's  Abbey  and  University,  at  College- 
ville,  in  Minnesota.  He  was  ordained  by  Right 
Rev.  Thomas  L.  Grace,  Bishop  of  St.  Paul,  on 
May  23,  1871.  He  was  immediately  appointed 
pastor  of  St.  Thomas'  Church,  at  Winona,  in 
Winona  county,  and  has  there  continued  a  most 
active  and  successful  pastorate  till  he  was  ap 
pointed  Bishop  in  1889.  When  appointed  pas 
tor  at  Winona  he  also  attended  the  church  at  St. 
Charles,  and  at  that  time  there  were  only  four 
churches  and  four  stations  in  the  county,  and 
one  priest  besides  himself.  In  his  own  parish 
the  Catholic  families  were  increased  from  ninety 
to  two  hundred,  and  now  there  are  twelve  fine 
churches  in  the  county.  Father  Cotter  has  been 
an  apostle  of  temperance.  He  organized  the 
Father  Mathew  Society  in  Winona,  in  1877,  and 
in  that  year  went  with  Father,  now  Archbishop, 
Ireland  to  the  Total  Abstinence  National  Con 
vention  at  New  York,  and  was  three  times  elected 
President  of  the  National  Total  Abstinence 
Union  of  America,  and  he  was  appointed  the 
lecturer  for  the  Union.  By  his  eloquent  appeals 
in  the  cause  of  temperance  he  has  won  a  national 
reputation.  He  was  consecrated  first  Bishop  of 
Winona  by  Archbishop  Ireland,  at  St.  Paul's 
Cathedral,  on  December  27,  1889.  The  works 
with  which  he  was  associated  as  pastor  have  now 
become  extended  over  a  large  Diocese,  and  are 
greatly  multiplied.  The  personal  example  of 
total  abstinence  which  Bishop  Cotter  practices 
is  the  most  eloquent  appeal  Father  Cotter  has 
ever  made  for  the  cause  of  temperance,  while  his 
eloquence  was  resounding  throughout  the  land. 


(128) 


D6DVXIT-  ILLOS  •  IN 


Cathedral   of  San   Francisco  de  Assisi,   Santa  F6,   N.   M. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
PROVINCE  OF  SANTA  F£ 

History  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Santa  F€,  and  of  the  Suffragan  See  of  Denver  and  Vicariate- Apostolic  of  Arizona. 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  SANTA  FE. 


|HB  Territory  of  New  Mexico 
was  formed  by  Pope'  Pius  IX. 
into  a  Vicariate-Apostolic  in 
1850,  when  Rev.  John  Baptist 
Lamy,  pastor  of  St.  Mary's 
Church  at  Covington,  Ken 
tucky,  was  appointed  Vicar- 
Apostolic,  and  he  was  conse 
crated  under  the  title  of  Bishop 
of  Agathonica,  November  24,  1850.  Religion 
was  in  a  deplorable  state,  the  old  missions  had 
ceased,  and  Spanish  inhabitants  and  the  Indians 
had  but  little  vestige  of  t'heir  former  faith.  New 
Mexico,  however,  contained  sixty  thousand  whites 
and  eight  thousand  Indians,  all  of  whom  should 
have  been  Catholics  ;  but  after  so  many  years  of 
neglect  the  field  had  become  overgrown  with  in 
difference,  ignorance  and  vice.  Bishop  Lamy 
made  every  effort  to  restore  religion  and  educa 
tion,  and  to  this  end  endeavored  to  secure  good 


priests  for  his  vicariate.  In  1853  the  Sisters  of 
Loretto  came  and  opened  at  Santa  Fe  their  Con 
vent  and  Academy  of  Our  Lady  of  Light.  On 
July  29,  1853,  this  vicariate  was  merged  in  the 
See  of  Denver,  and  Dr.  Lamy  was  appointed  its 
first  Bishop.  He  visited  Europe  and  procured 
four  priests,  a  deacon  and  two  sub-deacons.  The 
Christian  Brothers  came  and  founded  St.  Mi 
chael's  College  at  Santa  Fe,  so'  also  the  Sisters  of 
Charity  came  to  take  charge  of  hospitals  and 
asylums,  and  the  Jesuits  came  and  opened  at  Las 
Vegas  a  college  now  conducted  by  the  Christian 
Brothers.  The  Catholic  Journal  was  started  by 
the  Jesuit  Fathers.  The  Sisters  of  Mercy  also 
came  later.  The  Diocese  was  advanced  to  the 
rank  of  an  Archdiocese  in  1875,  and  Bishop 
Lamy  became  its  Archbishop.  The  Diocese  of 
Denver  and  the  Vicariate-Apostolic  of  Arizona 
became  suffragans  to  the  Metropolitan  See.  The 
Pueblo  Indians,  who  were  Catholics,  were  exposed 

(129) 


130 

to  the  loss  of  their  faith  by  the  measures  of  the 
United  States  government  in  confiding  Catholic 
Indians  to  Protestant  ministers  and  teachers,  and 


ARCHDIOCESE  -OF-  SANTA  FE. 


Church  of  San  Miguel,  Santa  F6,  N.  M.,  the  oldest  church 
in  the  United  States. 

Archbishop  Lamy  labored  earnestly  and  not  un 
successfully  in  resisting  this  injustice  and  un 
authorized  interference.  In  1884  the  labors  of 


Archbishop  Lamy  had  undermined  his  health, 
and  he  procured  as  Co-adjutor  Right  Rev.  John 
Baptist  Salpointe.  July  18,  1885,  Archbishop 
Lamy  resigned  the  See  of  Santa  Fe,  and  Bishop 
Salpointe  became  administrator  of  the  Diocese. 
At  this  time  the  Diocese  possessed  thirty-four 
parish  churches  and  two  hundred  and  five  chapels, 
regularly  attended,  thirty-three  secularpriests  and 
nineteen  regulars  and  five  ecclesiastical  students, 
nine  convents,  two  colleges,  a  hospital  and  an 
asylum,  one  hundred  and  eleven  thousand  Cath 
olics  of  Spanish  descent,  three  thousand  English- 
speaking  Catholics,  and  twelve  thousand  Catholic 
Pueblo  Indians.  This  was  a  district  which,  in 
1850,  had  not  been  visited  by  a  Catholic  Bishop  in 
eighty  years.  At  the  resignation  of  Archbishop 
Lamy  the  Jesuits  were  successfully  conducting 
the  College  of  Las  Vegas,  and  issued  therefrom 
fhe  Bern's/a  Catolica,  and  among  other  institutions 
of  the  Diocese  were  the  Select  School  of  the  Holy 
Family  at  Albuquerque,  the  Orphans'  Home  and 
Industrial  School  under  the  Sisters  of  Charity 
at  Santa  Fe ;  St.  Vincent's  Hospital,  Academy 
of  the  Sacred  Heart  under  the  Sisters  of  Charity 
at  San  Miguel,  numerous  schools  under  the  Sis 
ters  of  Loretto  and  Christian  Brothers,  and  so 
dalities  and  peons'  associations.  The  Most  Rev. 
John  Baptist  Lamy  died  February  13,  1888. 


DIOCESE  OF  DENVER. 


COLORADO  was  erected  into  a  Vicariate-Apos- 
tolic  by  Pope  Pius  IX.,  in  1868.  It  had  belonged 
to  the  jurisdiction  of  Bishop  Lamy,  who  sent 
Rev.  Joseph  Projectus  Macheboeuf  to  that  Ter 
ritory  as  Vicar-General,  and  by  him  was  built 
the  first  church  at  Denver.  In  1868  there  were 
seventeen  churches  and  chapels,  and  a  convent 
and  academy  for  girls  and  a  school  for  boys, 
under  the  Sisters  of  Loretto.  Right  Rev.  Joseph 
Projectus  Macheboeuf  was  appointed  first  Vicar- 
Apostolic  of  Colorado  and  was  consecrated  as 
Bishop  of  Epiphania  on  August  16,  1868.  The 
Vicariate  embraced  also  the  Territory  of  Utah, 
which  was  detached  to  form  a  separate  Vicariate 
in  1886.  In  1877  the  Diocese  of  Denver  was 
erected  and  Bishop  Macheboeuf  was  its  first 
Bishop.  In  1887  the  Bishop,  spent  with  his 
labors,  received  as  Co-adjutor  Right  Rev.  Nich 
olas  Matz.  He  died  on  July  10,  1889,  leaving 


Pro-Cathedral  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  Denver,  Col. 


VICARIATE-APOSTOLIC  OF  ARIZONA. 

sixty-two  priests,  a  fine  Cathedral,  forty-nine  pitals,  and  a  Catholic  paper  called  The  Colorado 
churches  and  fifty-three  chapels,  nine  academies,  Catholic.  Bishop  Matz  in  1889  was  formally 
sixteen  parochial  schools,  an  asylum,  eleven  hos-  consecrated  Bishop  of  Denver. 


VlCARIATE-APOSTOLIC  OF  ARIZONA. 
THE  Vicariate- Apostolic  of  Arizona  was  erected 
in  1869;  embraced  Arizona  and  the  southern  part 
of  New  Mexico  and  El  Paso  county,  Texas  ;  and 
Right  Rev.  John  Baptiste  Salpointe  was  ap 
pointed  first  Vicar- Apostolic  of  a  Territory  which 
had  been  evangelized  more  than  a  century  before 
by  the  Jesuit  Father  Kuhn,  called  by  the  Span 
iards  Kino.  Churches  and  priests  existed  at 
Tucson,  the  ancient  Mission  of  St.  Xavier  del 
Bac,  Las  Cruces  and  San  Augustin.  Spanish 
and  Indian  missions  were  revived,  and  new  ones 
founded.  The  Bishop  had  to  resist  as  well  as  he 
could  the  unjust  and  unconstitutional  policy  of 
the  Federal  government  in  forcing  Protestantism 
on  Catholic  Indians.  The  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph, 
of  Mercy,  and  of  Loretto  came  and  opened 
schools.  In  1884  the  equipment  of  the  Vicariate 
had  increased  to  sixteen  priests,  eighteen  churches 
dedicated  and  five  building,  fifteen  chapels,  six 
parochial  schools,  thirty  thousand  Catholic  whites 
and  one  thousand  Catholic  Indians.  On  June 
8,  1884,  Bishop  Salpointe  was  transferred  to 
Santa  Fe,  as  Co-adjutor,  and  he  was  succeeded 
by  the  present  energetic  and  able  Vicar- Apostolic, 
Right  Rev.  Dr.  Bourgade. 


St.  Augustine  Church,  Tucson,  Arizona. 


MOST  REV.  JOHN   B.  SALPOINTE,  D.D., 


SECOND  ARCHBISHOP   OF  SANTA   FE. 


RCHBISHOP     SAL 
POINTE  has  proved 
himself  a  worthy  suc 
cessor  of  Archbishop 
Lamy  and  has  suc 
cessfully  carried  for 
ward  his  works.    He 
was  born  at  St.  Maur 
ice,  in  France,  on  Feb 
ruary  22,  1825.     Af 
ter  making  excellent 
preparatory  studies  at  the  Seminary 
of  Agin  in  the  Department  of  Creuse, 
he  made  a  complete  theological  course 
at  the  Seminary  of  Clermont-Ferrand  and  with 
the  Sulpitians  at  Montferrand,  where  he  was  or 
dained  on  December  21,  1851.     His  first  labors 
consisted   of  three    years'   parochial   service   at 
home,  and  five  years  as  professor  in  the  Seminary 
of  Clermont-Ferrand.      But   now   he   took   the 
noble  resolve  of  devoting  himself  to  the  arduous 
ajiid  self-sacrificing  missions  of  New  Mexico,  and 
left  his  native  country  for  that  purpose  on  August 
4  1859.     Bishop  Lamy  found  Father  Salpointe 
to  be  A -true -missionary,  and  so  zealous  and  so  ef 
fective  were :his' services' in  New  Mexico  for  seven 
years    that,   in    1866,    he   was  commissioned  as 
Vicar-General  to  take  charge  of  the  vast  field  of 
Arizona.      Here,  too,  not  only  was  his  zeal  re 
markable,  but  his  administrative  abilities  also, 
and  so  well  had  he  organized  the  Church  of  Ari 
zona,  that  in  1869  the  Territory  was  formed  into 
a  Vicariate- Apostolic,  and  Father  Salpointe  was 


appointed  first  Vicar-Apostolic.     He  was  conse 
crated  at  home,  in  France,  at  Clermont-Ferrand, 
on  June  20,  1869.     His  Vicariate  contained  not 
only  Arizona,  but  also  the  Mesilla  valley  in  the 
southern  portion  of  New  Mexico,  and  the  large 
county  of  El  Paso  in  Texas.     Bishop  Salpointe 
was  consecrated  under   the   title   of  Bishop   of 
Doryla.     His  labors  now  were  most  unsparing. 
One  of  his  first  acts  was  the  erection  of  a  church 
at  Colorado.      Though  the  Spanish  population 
had  inherited  the  faith,  and  the  Indians  had  been 
brought  into  the  Church,  they  both  had  been  so 
long   without   the   aid   of  religion,    as    to   need 
equally  the  exertions  of  the  Bishop  and  the  few 
devoted    missionaries   he    could  draw   into  this 
laborious  field.      He  also  introduced  several  re 
ligious  communities  of  Sisters.      In    1884    the 
Vicariate  had  made  a  solid  and  considerable  ad 
vance  in  priests,  churches,  schools    and    Cath 
olic  population.     In  that  year  he  was  appointed 
Coadjutor  to  Archbishop    Lamy,  of  Santa  Fe, 
with  the  right  of  succession,  on  April  22  ;  was 
promoted  to  the   titular  Archiepiscopal  See  of 
Anazarba,on  October  n,  1884 ;  and  became  Arch 
bishop  of  Santa  Fe  on  the  resignation  of  Arch 
bishop  Lamy  on  July'iS,  1885.     Under  his  wise 
and  zealous  labors  the  Archdiocese  now  possesses 
fifty-four  priests,  of  whom  twelve  are  regulars, 
thirty-six  churches  and  two  hundred  and  thirteen 
chapels,  four   theological  students,  one  college, 
six  academies,  one  orphan  asylum,  and  a  Catholic 
population  of  one  hundred  and  ten  whites  and 
eighteen  thousand  Indians. 


COPYRIGHTED  1889, BY  OEBBIE  *.  CO. 


GRAVUKE.GEBBIE  S.  HU8SON  CO  IJTP 


RIGHT   REV.    NICHOLAS   C.    MATZ,    D.D. 

Bishop  of  Denver,  Col. 


RIGHT   REV.    FRANCIS    MORA,    D.  D. 

Bishop  of  Monterey  and  Los  Angeles. 


RIGHT  REV.    P.    MANOGUE,   D.  D. 
Bishop  of  Sacramento,  Cat. 


RIGHT   REV.    LAWRENCE   SCANLAN,    D.  D. 

Vicar  Apostolic  of  Utah  Territory 


RIGHT  REV.  NICHOLAS  C.  MATZ,  D.D., 


SECOND  BISHOP  OF  DENVER. 


LSACE-LORRAINE  has  given 
several  most  laborious  and  use 
ful  missionaries  to  the  Ameri 
can  Church,  and  among  these 
Right  Rev.  Nicholas  C.  Matz 
is  not  the  least  distinguished. 
He  was  born  in  Miinster  on 
April  6,  1850.  He  received 
in  the  local  schools  of  Miinster  a  solid 
rudimentary  education.  At  the  age  of 
fifteen  he  had,  by  his  piety  and  faith, 
become  one  marked  out  for  the  holy 
ministry,  and  he  cheerfully  embraced  it.  With 
this  high  aim  in  view  he  entered  the  Petit  Semi- 
naire  of  Finstingen  in  1860,  and  was  pursuing  his 
classical  course,  when,  in  1868,  he  determined  to 
come  to  America,  to  whose  missions  he  had 
ardently  consecrated  his  life.  He  finished  his 
classical  course  and  made  a  successful  and  com 
plete  course  of  theology  at  the  College  of  St. 
Mary  of  the  West,  at  Cincinnati,  and  was  ordained 
in  1874.  Attaching  himself  to  the  missions  and 
Vicariate  of  Colorado  he  went  to  Denver,  where 
he  was  made  assistant  pastor  of  the  Pro-Cathedral 
of  the  Immaculate  Conception.  During  the 
three  years  he  labored  at  Denver  he  was  zealous, 
edifying  and  successful.  His  next  mission  was 
as  pastor  of  the  Church  of  Our  Lady  of  Lourdes, 
at  Georgetown,  Clear  Creek  county.  His  pas 
torate  here  was  marked  by  the  building  of  the 
new  Church  of  Our  Lady  of  Lourdes,  the  erec 
tion  of  a  fine  school  and  the  founding  of  St. 
Joseph's  Hospital,  which  he  placed  under  the 


care  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph.  He  was  now 
recalled  to  Denver  and  became  pastor  of  the  new 
Church  of  St.  Ann,  at  Northeast  Denver. 
Father  Matz  was  remarkable  for  the  close  ap 
plication  he  gave  to  business,  to  the  develop 
ment  of  religious,  charitable  and  educational 
institutions,  and  for  the  zeal  with  which  he  per 
formed  his  pastoral  duties.  He  is  a  man  of 
energy  and  zeal,  and  in  the  various  positions  he 
has  held  he  has  always  gained  confidence  and 
respect.  In  1887  Right  Rev.  Joseph  Projectus 
Machebceuf,  then  at  the  age :  of -seventy-five, 
needed  a  co-adjutor,  and  found  Father  Matz  the 
most  available  man  for  the  place  on  account  of 
his  abilities  and  knowledge  of  the  Diocese.  His 
recommendation  was  ratified  by  the  Holy  See, 
and  Bishop  Matz  was  accordingly  appointed 
Vicar-General  and  Co-adjutor  Bishop,  and  was 
consecrated  in  the  Pro-Cathedral  of  the  Immacu 
late  Conception  on  October  28,  1887.  He  has 
greatly  relieved  his  venerable  colleague,  and  has, 
by  his  labors  and  success,  added  many  to  the 
claims  he  has  upon  the  gratitude  of  the  Catholics 
of  Colorado.  On  the  death  of  Bishop  Mache- 
boeuf,  on  July  10,  1889,  Bishop  Matz  succeeded 
him  as  Bishop  of  Denver.  In  1890  the  Diocese 
possessed  sixty-four  priests,  of  whom  thirty  are 
regulars,  forty-nine  churches,  eighty-five  stations 
and  fifty-three  chapels,  one  college,  nine  acad 
emies,  eighteen  parochial  schools  with  over  two 
thousand  pupils,  one  orphan  asylum,  and  a 
Catholic  population  of  fifty  thousand.  The  Dio 
cese  is  well  organized  and  equipped. 


(133) 


RIGHT  REV.  P.  BOURGADE,  D.D., 


SECOND  VICAR-APOSTOLIC  OF  ARIZONA. 


ISHOP  BOURGADE 
accepted  a  field  which 
the  Jesuits  had  evan 
gelized  many  years  be 
fore,  led  by  the  cele 
brated  Father  Kuhn 
or  Kino,  and  has  done 
a  good  work  in  his 
endeavors  to  restore 
the  ancient  Church  of  Arizona.  He  was  born 
in  the  Department  of  Pny-de-Dome,  in  France, 
on  October  17,  1845.  After  preliminary  studies 
he  entered  the  school  of  the  Christian  Brothers, 
and  afterwards  continued  his  classical  studies  at 
the  College  of  Billom.  Here  he  corresponded 
with  graces  which  led  him  to  the  sacred  ministry, 
entered  the  Great  Seminary  of  the  Sulpitians, 
and  under  these  able  and  exemplary  trainers  of 
the  clergy  he  made  his  course  of  theology  with 
approbation.  About  the  year  1870  the  newly 
appointed  Vicar-Apostolic  of  Arizona,  Bishop 
Salpointe,  who  had  gone  to  France  for  episcopal 
consecration,  found  one  willing  to  yield  to  his 
appeals  for  volunteers  for  the  missions  of  Arizona 
in  young  Bourgade,  then  in  the  fifth  year  of 
his  theological  course  at  the  seminary  and  in 
deacon's  orders.  After  consulting  his  spiritual 
director  he  accompanied  Bishop  Salpointe  to 
Arizona,  reaching  Tucson  in  June,  1870.  He 
completed  his  sacred  studies,  was  ordained  in 
1870,  and  was  immediately  assigned  to  missionary 
work  at  the  Church  of  the  Immaculate  Concep 
tion,  at  Ynma.  So  untiring  were  his  labors,  and  so 
unsparing  was  he  of  his  health,  that  in  the  sum 
mer  of  1873  he  was  compelled  to  return  to  his 
native  country  for  the  purpose  of  restoration. 
After  two  years'  rest  and  recruiting  he  returned 
to  the  missions  of  Arizona  in  1875.  We  now 
find  him  laboring  as  zealously  as  ever  in  the 
missions  of  San  Elzeario,  in  Texas,  and  here 
he  spent  six  years  of  missionary  work,  such  as 
is  only  known  to  priests  on  the  frontier  missions. 
His  next  service  was  in  the  Vicariate  of  Arizona, 


which  embraced  not  only  Arizona,  but  also 
Colorado,  the  Mesilla  Valley,  in  New  Mexico, 
and  El  Paso  county,  in  Texas.  Here  he  labored 
for  ten  years,  and  while  ardently  immersed  in 
the  labor  of  saving  souls,  he  was,  on  January 
23,  1885,  appointed  to  succeed  Bishop  Salpointe 
as  Vicar-Apostolic  of  Arizona.  He  was  conse 
crated  under  the  title  of  Bishop  of  Saumaco,  on 


Right  Rev.  P.  Bourgade,  D.  D. 

May  i,  1885,  by  Archbishop  Lamy,  at  the 
Cathedral  of  Santa  Fe.  The  Vicariate-Apostolic 
in  the  beginning  of  1890  contained  nineteen 
priests,  sixteen  churches,  ninety  stations  and 
twenty-six  chapels,  two  theological  students, 
nine  academies,  ten  parochial  schools  with  an 
attendance  of  eight  hundred  pupils,  and  a 
Catholic  population  of  thirty-five  thousand. 


St.  Mary's  Cathedral,    San   Francisco,   Cal. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
PROVINCE  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

History  of  the  Archdiocese  of  San  Francisco,  and  of  the  Suffragan  Dioceses  of  Monterey  and  Los  Angeles,  Sacramento,  and  Vicariate 

Apostolic  of  Utah  Territory. 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO. 


:  HE  missions  of  California  had 
been  so  successful  that  they 
became  the  admiration  of  the 
Christian  world.  The  In 
dians  of  both  Californias  had 
been  gathered  together  in 
Christian  communities  with 
churches  and  schools,  and  with 
agriciiltural  and  manufacturing  in 
dustries  of  great  productiveness. 
Twenty  missions,  presided  over  by 
two  Franciscan  Fathers  for  each  mission,  one  for 
the  spiritual  and  the  other  for  the  temporal  inter 
ests,  existed,  and  their  names  indicated  the  piety  of 
the  flocks — San  Diego,  San  Carlos,  San  Gabriel, 
San  Solidad,  San  Luis  Obispo,  San  Antonio,  San 
Juan  Cepistrano,  Santa  Clara,  San  Francisco, 


San  Buenaventura,  Santa  Barbara,  La  Puris- 
sima  Conception,  San  Fernando,  San  Miguel, 
San  Juan  Bautista,  Santa  Cruz,  San  Jose,  San 
Luis  Rey,  San  Raphael  and  Santa  Ynez.  In 
1832  Father  Garcia  Diego  y  Morena,  the  Fran 
ciscan,  was  appointed  Prefect,  and  in  1840  the 
Diocese  of  both  Californias  was  erected,  and  he 
was  appointed  its  Bishop.  He  was  consecrated 
on  October  4,  1840.  In  the  meantime,  and 
during  his  absence  for  several  years  in  Mexico, 
the  missions  were  secularized  by  the  Mexican 
Governor,  and  this  meant  wholesale  plunder  and 
massacre.  The  single  fact  that  the  Catholic 
Indian  population  had  been  reduced  from  over 
30,000  to  4,459,  and  these  remnants  rediiced  to 
poverty,  will  give  some  insight  into  this  outrage. 
The  good  Bishop,  in  the  midst  of  the  devoted 

(135) 


i36 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  SAN   FRANCISCO. 


and  ruined  flock,  did  all  an  apostle  could  do  to 
save  the  remnants  of  the  missions,  and  his  labors 
and  travels  were  unbounded.  He  sank  under 
his  heroic  efforts,  and  died  on  April  13,  1846. 
The  missions  and  churches  of  San  Diego  and 
San  Gabriel  were  reduced  to  ashes,  and  ruin 
reigned  in  the  missions  of  San  Buenaventura, 
Santa  Cruz,  San  Juan  Bautista,  San  Miguel, 
Carinel,  La  Purissima  Conception,  San  Raphael 
and  others.  The  Diocese  of  Monterey,  embracing 
the  northern  portion  of  the  Diocese  of  both  Cali- 
fornias,  was  erected  in  1850,  and  Rev.  Joseph 
Sadoc  Alemany,  of  the  Dominican  Order,  was 
appointed  its  first  Bishop.  He  was  consecrated 
by  Cardinal  Franzoni  in  the  Church  of  San  Car 
los,  Rome,  on  June  30,  1850,  and  immediately 
returned  to  his  episcopal  city.  In  1853  the 
Archdiocese  of  San  Francisco  was  erected,  and 
Dr.  Alemany  was  transferred  thereto,  and  be 
came  an  Archbishop,  with  the  Dioceses  of  Mon 
terey  and  Los  Angeles  as  suffragans.  Under 
the  long  and  zealous  administration  of  Arch 
bishop  Alemany  the  Jesuits  founded  the  fine 


College  of  St.  Ignatius  at  San  Francisco,  St. 
Joseph's  College  and  Santa  Clara  College,  and 
the  Christian  Brothers  established  the  Sacred 
Heart  College  and  St.  Mary's  College ;  and 
academies  for  girls  were  erected  by  the  Domini 
can  Sisters,  the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  Sisters 
of  Mercy,  Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  the  Pres 
entation  Sisters,  Sisters  of  Mercy,  Sisters  of 
the  Holy  Names  of  Jesus  and  Mary,  and  the 
Sisters  of  St.  Joseph.  He  had  also  founded  hos 
pitals  and  asylums,  Home  for  the  Aged  and 
Infirm,  and  the  Youths'  Protectory.  He  also 
founded  numerous  parochial  schools.  In  1883  he 
was  compelled  to  ask  for  a  co-adjutor,  and  received 
as  such  Right  Rev.  Patrick  W.  Riordan,  of  Chi 
cago.  He  continued  to  administer  the  Diocese, 
and  was  finally  forced  by  his  increasing  infirmi 
ties  to  resign,  in  November,  1884.  Whereupon 
Dr.  Riordan  became  Archbishop  of  San  Fran 
cisco.  Archbishop  Alemany  left  San  Francisco 
in  May,  1885,  and  spent  his  remaining  years  in 
Valencia,  Spain,  where  he  died  in  the  Dominican 
convent  on  April  14,  1888. 


DIOCESE  OF  MONTEREY  AND  Los  ANGELES. 

Right  Rev.  Francis  Garia  y  Moreno  until  his 
death,  in  1846,  and  the  erection  of  the  See  of 
Monterey,  in  1850,  when  Right  Rev.  Joseph 
Sadoc  Alemany  was  appointed  first  Bishop  of 
Monterey.  , 

Bishop  Alemany  was  transferred  to  San  Fran 
cisco,  July  29,  1853 ;  and  at  this  time  the 
Dioceses  of  Monterey  and  San  Francisco  pos 
sessed  jointly  about  forty  churches,  thirty-nine 
priests,  one  diocesan  college,  three  convents  and 
colleges,  and  about  seventy-five  thousand  Cath 
olics.  The  first  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore,  in 
1853,  nominated  the  Lazarist  Father,  Right  Rev. 
Thaddeus  Amat,  to  succeed  Dr.  Alemany  as 
Bishop  of  Monterey,  and  he  was  accordingly  ap 
pointed  by  the  Holy  See,  June  29,  1853.  Having 
made  every  effort  to  escape  the  mitre,  and  having 
gone  to  Rome  to  ask  for  his  release,  he  finally 
yielded  to  obedience  and  was  consecrated  in  the 
Church  of  the  College  of  the  Propaganda,  March 
12,  1854,  by  Cardinal  Franzoni.  Bishop  Amat  re- 
IN  the  history  of  the  Diocese  of  San  Francisco  turned  to  Monterey,  November  25,  1855,  and  de- 
we  have^seen  the  erection  of  the  See  of  the  Two  voted  himself  to  the  severe  work  commenced  by 
Cahformas,  m  1840,  and  its  administration  by  Bishops  Diego  and  Alemany .  In  185 6  he  procured 


Carmel  Mission,  Monterey,  California. 


DIOCESE  OF  SACRAMENTO. 


from  the  Sisterhood  at  Emmittsburg,  Maryland, 
a  colony  of  Sisters  of  Charity,  with  whom  he 
founded  the  Orphan  Asylum  of  the  Immaculate 
Conception  at  Los  Angeles,  and  some  years  later 
he  founded  another  asylum  at  Santa  Cruz. 
In  1858  the  Sisters  of  Charity  opened  a 
boarding-school  at  St.  Vincent's  Institute,  at 
Santa  Barbara.  In  1858  was  founded  by  Bishop 
Amat  the  Collegiate  Institute,  now  St.  Vincent's 
College,  at  Los  Angeles,  and  it  was  placed  in  the 
hands  of  the  Lazarists  ;  and  in  1864  was  founded 
St.  John's  Institute  at  San  Juan,  and  placed  in 
care  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  and  in  1870  the 
Sisters  of  Charity  handed  it  over  to  the  Sisters 
of  the  Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary.  In  1858 
Bishop  Amat  brought  from  Europe  more  priests 
and  sisters.  He  introduced  the  Brothers  of  the 
Third  Order  of  St.  Francis  and  Sisters  of  the 
Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary.  The  Episcopal  See 
having  been  removed  to  Los  Angeles,  the  Cathe 
dral  of  St.  Bibiana  was  built  and  dedicated,  April 
9,  1876.  Bishop  Amat  had  to  struggle  also  for 
the  recovery  of  old  church  properties  from  the 


government.  He  died  May  12,  1878,  leaving 
the  Diocese  of  Monterey  alone  with  thirty-two 
churches,  fifteen  chapels  and  thirty-six  stations, 
thirty-eight  priests,  six  academies,  twenty-one 


Cathedral  of  St.  Bibiana,  Los  Angeles,  California. 

thousand  white  and  three  thousand  Indian  Cath 
olics.  He  was  succeeded  by  Right  Rev.  Francis 
Mora. 


Right  Rev.  Eugene  O'Connell,  D.  D 


DIOCESE  OF  SACRAMENTO. 

THE  Vicariate-Apostolic  of  Marysville  was  set 
off  from  the  Diocese  of  San  Francisco  in  1861, 
and   embraced  that  portion  of  California  which 
lies  north  of  the  thirty-ninth  degree  and  the  Ter 
ritory  of  Nevada.    Right  Rev.  Eugene  O'Connell 
was  the  first  Vicar- Apostolic,  and  he  was  conse 
crated  under  the  title  of  Bishop  of  Flaviopolis  at 
All  Hallows  College  in  Ireland,  by  Archbishop  Cul- 
len,  on  February  3, 1861.  On  reaching  his Vicariate 
Bishop  O'Connell  had  for  his  co-laborers  only 
four  priests  in  that  extensive  region,  but,  making 
Marysville  his  episcopal  residence,  he  with  one 
priest  attended  to  that  Mission  and  the  Missions 
of  the  Vicariate  in  California.     The  Passionist 
Fathers  came  to  the  Vicariate  and  took  charge 
of  one  of  the  two  new  churches  then  erected  in 
Virginia,  while  Father  Manogue  took  the  other. 
In  August,  1863,  the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame  were 
secured  at  Marysville  and  the  Sisters  of  Mercy 
at  Grass  Valley.     Central  missions  and  churches 
were   established   at    several    places,    including 
Downieville,    Forest   Hill,    Grass   Valley,  Men- 
dicino  and  Weaverville,  and  from  these  centres 
numerous    missions   were    attended.     Not   only 


ARCHDIOCESE  OF  SAN   FRANCISCO. 

Pacific  Ocean  and  the  Colorado  River,  between  the 
thirty-ninth  and  forty-second  degrees,  was  erected 
on  March  3,  1868,  by  Pope  Pius  IX.,  and  Dr. 
O'Connell  was  appointed  its  first  Bishop,  and  at 
his  request  his  co-laborer  in  the  same  field,  Right 
Rev.  Patrick  Manogue,  was  appointed  Co-adjntor. 
In  March,  1884,  Bishop  O'Connell  resigned  the 
See,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  Co-adjutor, 
Bishop  Manogue.  At  this  time  the  Diocese  of 
Grass  Valley  possessed  thirty-five  priests,  thirty- 
seven  churches  and  seventy-five  stations,  five 
clerical  students  preparing  for  the  missions, 
eleven  female  institutions,  one  male  religious  in 
stitution,  three  asylums,  a  hospital,  and  a  Cath 
olic  population  of  ten  thousand.  The  Sisters  of 
Notre  Dame,  Sisters  of  Charity,  Sisters  of  Mercy, 
Sisters  of  St.  Dominic  and  Brothers  of  Mary 
were  all  doing  a  noble  and  salutary  work  of  edu 
cation  in  the  Diocese.  On  May  28,  1886,  Pope 
Leo  XIII.  erected  the  Diocese  of  Sacramento, 
which  embraces  the  former  Diocese  of  Grass 
Valley,  together  with  the  counties  of  Sacra 
mento,  Yolo,  Tuolumne,  Amador,  Calaveras, 
Mariposa,  Eldorado,  Placer,  Alpine  and  Mono,  in 
churches  but  also  schools  and  orphan  asylums  California,  and  Esmeralda  in  Nevada.  The  see- 
were  erected.  The  Diocese  of  Grass  Valley  ?  ond  Bishop  of  Grass  Valley,  Right  Rev.  Patrick 
which  included  the  region  lying  between  the  Monogue,  became  first  Bishop  of  Sacramento. 


Cathedral  of  the  Most  Blessed  Sacrament,  Sacramento,  Cal. 


VICARIATE-APOSTOLIC   OF   UTAH. 


The  Vicariate-Apostolic  of  Utah  contains  the 
Territory  of  Utah,  and  the  counties  of  Elko> 
Lander,  White,  Pine,  Nye,  Eureka  and  Lincoln 
in  Nevada.  It  was  erected  by  Pope  Leo  XIII.  on 
November  22,  1886,  and  Right  Rev.  Lawrence 
Scanlan  was  appointed  the  first  Vicar-Apostolic 
of  Utah,  under  the  title  of  Bishop  of  Lavanden. 
Salt  Lake  City  is  the  episcopal  residence,  and  the 
Cathedral  is  dedicated  to  St.  Mary  Magdalen. 
The  Vicariate  already  possesses  a  College  of  All 
Hallows,  and  several  female  academies,  select 
schools  for  boys,  and  a  number  of  parochial 
schools.  The  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross  have 
been  introduced  into  the  new  Vicariate,  and  they 
are  doing  a  good  and  zealous  work,  both  in 
schools  and  hospitals.  At  Salt  Lake  City  there 
is  a  hospital  of  the  Holy  Cross,  and  at  Ogden  a 
hospital  of  St.  Lawrence,  both  conducted  by  the 
Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross. 


St.  Mary  Magdalen's  Church,  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah. 


COPYRIGHTED    IS  89.  BYN3EBB  IE  &  CO  . 


RAVURE.    OEBBIE  8t  HUSSON  CO.  I 


MOST  REV.  PATRICK  W.  RIORBAN,  B.B. 

'#.      /'  '   f   /'  .JS 


cJ 


MOST  REV.  PATRICK  WILLIAM  RIORDAN,  D.D., 


SECOND    ARCHBISHOP  OF    SAN   FRANCISCO. 


HEN  a  young  priest 
from  Chicago 
yielded  to  the 
wishes  of  the 
venerable  Arch 
bishop  Alema- 
ny,  and  of  the 
other  Bishops, 
and  to  the  voice 
of  the  Holy  See, 
in  occupying  the 
burden  which  had  grown  too  heavy  for  the 
shoulders  of  the  aged  and  exhausted  prelate,  the 
founder  of  that  See,  it  was  a  work  of  self-sacrifice 
and  heroic  courage. 

Patrick  William  Riordan  was  born  in  Ireland, 
August  27, 1841.  His  parents  immigrated  to  the 
United  States,  and  he  was  brought  to  Chicago, 
where  his  mother  still  resides,  in  1848,  when  he 
was  seven  years  old.  After  rudimentary  and 
solid  instruction,  he  received  his  classical  educa 
tion  in  the  University  of  St.  Mary's  of  the  Lake, 
and  while  there  he  resolved  to  devote  himself  to 
the  holy  ministry,  and  at  his  request  he  was  re 
ceived  as  a  theological  student  into  the  Seminary 
of  the  University.  Such  was  the  brightness  of 
his  talents  that  he  was  selected  to  be  educated 
abroad,  and  was  sent  to  the  American  College  at 
Rome  by  his  superiors.  But  at  Rome  he  suffered 
so  severely  from  malaria  that  he  left  the  Eternal 
City  and  continued  to  completion  his  sacred 
studies  at  Paris  and  at  Louvain.  After  a  most 
successful  course  he  was  ordained  in  Belgium 
by  Cardinal  Sterckx  in  1865.  Returning  to 
Chicago  he  was  appointed  professor  of  ecclesias 
tical  history  and  canon  law  in  his  alma  mater, 
the  University  of  St.  Mary's  of  the  Lake,  and 
in  1867  he  was  transferred  to  the  professorship 


of  dogmatic  theology.  In  1868  he  was  appointed 
pastor  of  the  new  Church  of  St.  Mary's,  at  Joliet, 
Illinois,  and  in  this  field  he  served  with  zeal  and 
ability  until  1871,  when  he  was  recalled  to  Chi 
cago  and  appointed  pastor  of  the  important  parish 
of  St.  James.  The  ability  and  zeal  with  which 
he  discharged  his  duties  at  St.  James'  were  admi 
rable,  and  it  was  evident  to  all  that  so  energetic 
and  talented  a  priest  was  destined  for  great  utility 
and  distinction  in  the  Church.  His  most  active 
work  here  consisted  in  extending  and  perfecting 
the  parochial  schools  of  the  parish,  one  of  which 
now  contains  over  six  hundred  and  sixty-five 
boys,  and  another  five  hundred  and  ninety  girls. 
While  thus  engaged  he  received  information  of 
his  appointment  to  the  responsible  office  of  Co 
adjutor  of  the  venerable  Dr.  Alemany,  Arch 
bishop  of  San  Francisco,  with  the  right  of  suc 
cession.  He  was  consecrated  under  the  title  of 
Bishop  of  Cabasa,  by  Archbishop  Feehan,  at  St. 
James'  Church,  Chicago,  September  16,  1883, 
and  arrived  at  San  Francisco  the  following  No 
vember.  With  his  usual  energy  he  relieved 
Archbishop  Alemany  of  the  heavier  labors  of  the 
Diocese.  In  1884  he  represented  the  Archdiocese 
of  San  Francisco,  together  with  Dr.  Alemany,  in 
the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore.  On 
the  resignation  of  the  Archbishop  and  his  retire 
ment  to  Spain,  he  succeeded  him  as  Archbishop 
of  San  Francisco.  So  great  have  been  his  labors 
that  he  was  prostrated,  and  was  compelled  to 
take  a  few  months'  rest  in  Europe.  The  Arch 
diocese  now  contains  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
seven  priests,  of  whom  seventy-six  are  regulars, 
ninety-three  churches,  fifty-two  stations  and  fifty- 
two  chapels,  six  colleges,  twenty-two  academies, 
twenty-nine  parochial  schools,  five  asylums,  and 
a  Catholic  population  of  two  hundred  thousand. 


*  * 


(139) 


BANCROFT 
LIBRARY 


RIGHT  REV.  FRANCIS  MORA,  D.D.. 


THIRD  BISHOP  OF  MONTEREY  AND   LOS  ANGELES. 


NATIVE  of  Spain,  Right  Rev. 
Francis  Mora  was  born  in  the 
country  near  the  city  of  Vich, 
in  Catalonia,  on  November  25, 
1827.  He  acquired  a  good 
and  solid  education  in  the 
schools  of  Vich  and  in  his 
pious  family  religious  and  de 
vout  sentiments  and  practices.  He  was 
not  satisfied  with  anything  less  than  an 
entire  dedication  of  his  life  to  the  sanc 
tuary.  He  had  commenced  and  made 
good  progress  in  his  ecclesiastical  studies  in  the 
seminary  at  Vich,  when  he  met  the  zealous  and 
good  Bishop  Amat  at  the  seminary  in  search  of 
generous-hearted  Catalonians  as  volunteers  for 
the  Californian  missions.  He  hearkened  to  the 
zealous  appeals  of  the  Bishop  of  Monterey,  and 
accompanied  him  to  the  Pacific  coast  in  1854. 
He  continued  his  studies  with  zeal  and  attention 
for  ten  years,  and  was  ordained  by  Bishop  Amat 
at  Santa  Barbara  on  March  19,  1856.  He  was 
now  to  commence  a  laborious  missionary  career, 
and  was  first  appointed  pastor  at  San  Juan  Bau- 
tista,  then  at  Pajaro  Vale,  and  finally  at  San 
Luis  Obispo.  So  efficient  were  his  labors  and 
so  valuable  his  services  that  Bishop  Amat  called 
him  to  Los  Angeles  and  appointed  him  pastor  of 
the  Pro-Cathedral  of  St.  Bibiana  on  February  12, 
1863,  and  also  Vicar-General  of  the  Diocese  in 
1865.  In  all  these  important  positions  he  dis 
played  his  characteristic  energy,  attention  to 
business  and  administrative  ability.  In  1873 
Bishop  Amat  applied  for  a  Co-adjutor,and  Father 


Mora  was  his  choice.  He  was  accordingly  ap 
pointed  by  the  Holy  See  Co-adjutor,  with  the 
right  of  succession,  on  May  20,  1873,  and  was 
consecrated  under  the  title  of  Bishop  of  Mas- 
synopolis  on  August  3  of  that  year.  He  now 
assumed  the  most  arduous  labors  of  the  exten 
sive  and  laborious  Diocese  of  Monterey  and  Los 
Angeles,  and  on  the  death  of  Bishop  Amat,  on 
May  12,  1878,  he  succeeded  as  Bishop  of  the 
Diocese,  which  then  possessed  twenty-one  thou 
sand  Catholics,  of  whom  three  thousand  were 
Indians,  thirty  churches  and  thirty-eight  priests. 
He  struggled  to  restore  the  ancient  churches  and 
missions  of  California,  and,  in  1884,  when  Father 
Casanova  was  about  to  restore  the  ancient  church 
of  San  Carlos  at  Monterey  and  discovered  there 
under  the  remains  of  the  venerable  Franciscan 
missionary,  Father  Junipero  Serra,  the  apostle 
of  California,  Bishop  Mora  conducted  the  im 
pressive  services,  the  old  church  was  restored  and 
rededicated,  and  the  relics  of  Father  Serra  were 
encased  and  deposited  in  the  church  with  all 
solemnity.  The  Lazarists  opened  the  College  of 
St.  Vincent  at  Los  Angeles,  and  the  Franciscans 
that  of  Our  Lady  of  Sorrows  at  Santa  Barbara, 
and  the  Sisters  of  the  Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary 
and  Daughters  of  Charity  opened  schools  and 
academies.  Now,  in  1890,  the  Diocese  possesses 
sixty-two  priests,  of  whom  fourteen  are  regulars, 
thirty-eight  churches,  seventeen  stations  and 
twelve  chapels,  two  colleges,  five  academies, 
seven  parochial  schools,  five  asylums  and  a 
Catholic  population  of  forty  thousand.  There 
are  nine  theological  students. 


(140) 


RIGHT  REV.  PATRICK  MANOGUE,  D.D., 


SECOND   BISHOP  OF  GRASS  VALLEY  AND    FIRST  BISHOP  OF  SACRAMENTO. 


IGHT  REV.  PATRICK  MAN 
OGUE  was  born  at  Desert, 
County  Kilkenny,  Ireland,  in 
1831,  of  pious  Catholic  parents, 
who  instilled  religious  senti 
ments  into  his  mind  from  infancy. 
.He  made  his  earliest  studies  in 
one  of  the  schools  of  Callan.  He  canie  to 
America  when  still  a  boy  and  settled  in  New 
England,  and  here,  in  a  non-Catholic  communi 
ty,  he  found  his  religion  the  frequent  subject  of 
discussion,  misrepresentation  and  abuse.  The 
training  of  his  early  home  led  him  to  defend  his 
faith  and  Church,  and  these  discussions  accus 
tomed  him  from  necessity  and  choice  to  the 
closer  study  of  his  religion,  and  it  may  be  said 
it  was  the  Puritans  who  developed  in  him  the 
vocation  for  the  priesthood,  for  so  frequently  did 
he  become  a  defender  of  the  faith  that  he  re 
solved  to  devote  his  life  to  the  Church  he  heard 
so  much  abused.  He  became  a  student  at  the 
Seminary  of  St.  Mary's  of  the  Lake,  at  Chicago, 
where  he  made  a  successful  course  of  classics 
and  philosophy.  Such  was  his  promise  that  he 
was  sent  to  Paris,  and  made  his  theological  studies 
under  the  Sulpitians  at  their  grand  seminary. 
He  was  ordained  at  Paris,  at  the  Church  of  St. 
Sulpice,  by  Cardinal  Morlot,  in  1861.  He  re 
turned  to  devote  himself  to  the  missions  of 
California,  and  in  1864  he  was  sent  to  Nevada 
among  the  earliest  laborers  in  that  needy  field. 
He  was  pastor  at  Virginia  City,  where  he  erected 
the  admirable  Church  of  St.  Mary  and  founded 
the  Convent  and  School  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity, 


which  now  have  twelve  Sisters  and  a  hundred 
and  eighty  pupils.  For  sixteen  years  he  labored 
in  Virginia  City  and  vicinity  with  untiring  zeal 
and  unostentatious  efforts  and  results.  In  1880 
Bishop  O'Counell,  of  Grass  Valley,  needed  a  Co 
adjutor  in  a  Diocese  whose  labors  had  prostrated 
his  health,  but  there  was  no  one  willing  to  as 
sume  the  labor  and  the  burden  until  the  zealous 
pastor  of  Virginia  City  accepted  what  Rome 
tendered  and  desired.  He  was  appointed  Co 
adjutor  of  Grass  Valley  on  July  27,  1880,  and 
he  was  consecrated  by  Archbishop  Alemany,  at 
St.  Mary's  Cathedral,  in  San  Francisco,  on 
January  16,  1881.  So  prostrated  was  the  health 
of  Bishop  O'Connell  that  Bishop  Manogue  cheer 
fully  performed  the  burden  of  the  Episcopal 
labors,  and  in  March,  1884,  on  the  resignation 
of  that  prelate,  Dr.  Manogue  became  Bishop  of 
Grass  Valley.  At  that  time  his  Diocese  con 
tained  between  seven  and  ten  thousand  Catholics, 
thirty-five  priests  and  thirty-seven  churches.  On 
May  28,  1886,  the  Holy  Father,  Pope  Leo  XIIL, 
erected  the  See  of  Sacramento,  which  included 
the  Diocese  of  Grass  Valley  and  other  parts  of 
California  and  Nevada;  Bishop  Manogue  was 
appointed  its  first  Bishop,  and  then  removed  his 
residence  to  the  Episcopal  city  of  Sacramento. 
The  Diocese  has  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  Sisters  of 
the  Precious  Blood,  Sisters  of  Charity,  Sisters  of 
the  Holy  Cross  and  Dominican  Sisters,  and  now, 
in  1890,  possesses  forty  priests,  sixty-six  churches 
and  sixty-six  stations,  two  colleges,  eight  acade 
mies,  three  orphan  asylums,  and  a  Catholic 
population  of  twenty-five  thousand. 


RIGHT  REV.  LAWRENCE  SCANLAN,  D.D., 


FIRST  VICAR-APOSTOLIC  OF  UTAH   TERRITORY. 


LAWRENCE  SCANLAN  was  bom  at 

Balliustarsua,  County  Tipperary, 
Ireland,  September  29,  1843. 
In  1860  he  commenced  the 
study  of  the  classics  at 
Thurles,  and,  having  resolved 
on  studying  for  the  sacred 
ministry,  he  entered  the  Col 
lege  of  All  Hallows,  at 
Dublin,  and  here  he  made  a  complete 
course  of  philosophy  and  theology. 
Having  dedicated  himself  to  the  mis 
sions  of  California,  he  was  ordained  for  the 
Diocese  of  San  Francisco  in  1868  ;  he  immediately 
came  to  the  United  States  and  went  to  San 
Francisco.  His  first  missionary  service  was  as 
assistant  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's  Church,  where 
he  labored  faithfully  and  zealously  for  three 
years.  In  1871  Pioche,  Nevada,  where  new 
mines  were  discovered,  became  a  great  mining 
centre,  and  many  Catholics  were  among  the 
struggling  throng.  A  priest  was  needed  for 
these  exposed  members  of  the  flock.  Father 
Scanlan  was  selected  for  this  arduous  work,  and 
he  accepted  the  mission,  which  he  only  reached 
by  a  week's  steady  staging.  Here  among  the 
most  disorderly  elements  he  labored,  and  was  in 
a  real  wilderness,  where  it  was  nearly  two  years 
that  he  never  saw  a  fellow-priest.  At  Pioche  he 
erected  a  neat  church,  which  stood  as  the  pioneer 
altar  of  religion  in  that  region.  He  did  much 
to  reduce  the  ferocity  of  frontier  mining  life,  and 
the  rudest  natures  yielded  to  his  gentle  yet 
forcible  appeals.  While  thus  successfully  labor 
ing,  such  was  his  aptitude,  that,  in  1873,  Arch 


bishop  Alemany  appointed  him  pastor  for  another 
needy  and  still  more  embarrassing  field,  the  mis 
sion  of  Salt  Lake  City.  A  few  years  later  he 
was  appointed  Vicar  Forane  for  the  whole  Ter 
ritory  of  Utah.  He  procured  the  site  and  built 
the  Church  of  St.  Mary  Magdalen  at  Salt  Lake 
City.  He  erected  St.  Mary's  Academy  in  1881 ; 
he  erected  the  splendid  Hospital  of  the  Holy 
Cross,  and  in  1886  he  founded  All  Hallows  Col 
lege,  which  he  named  after  his  Alma  Mater  in 
Ireland,  and  became  president  of  the  new  All 
Hallows.  He  also  commenced  the  erection  of 
churches  and  schools  in  many  parts  of  this 
extensive  territory  as  well  as  institutions  of  relief 
and  charity.  Father  Scanlan  undertook  much, 
but  he  matured  every  plan  well  beforehand,  and 
calculated  how  and  whence  the  means  could  be 
secured.  Visitors  to  Salt  Lake  are  surprised  to 
behold  the  Catholic  Church  there  possessing  the 
finest  public  buildings  and  institutions.  While 
other  religious  bodies  there  are  sustained  by  aid 
from  parent  societies  elsewhere,  the  Catholic 
Church  of  Utah  is  self-sustaining.  On  Novem 
ber  22,  1886,  the  Vicariate-Apostolic  of  Utah  was 
erected  by  Pope  Leo  XIII.,  and  Father  Scanlan, 
greatly  to  his  surprise  and  regret,  was  appointed 
Vicar- Apostolic.  He  was  consecrated  on  June 
29,  1887,  as  Bishop  of  Lavandeu.  The  Vicariate 
now,  1 890,  possesses  fourteen  priests,  ten  churches, 
thirty-six  stations  and  five  chapels,  one  college, 
two  academies,  six  parochial  schools,  with  an 
attendance  of  nearly  one  thousand,  three  hospitals, 
and  a  Catholic  population  of  five  thousand  five 
hundred.  Even  the  Mormons  respect  his  char 
acter  and  virtues. 


(142) 


APPENDIX 


THE  MITRED  ABBOTS. 


O  intimately  associated  with 
the  history  of  the  Church 
in  America,  and  with  the 
Hierarchy,  are  the  Mitred 
Abbots  of  the  American 
Church,  that  a  brief  mention 
of  them  is  necessary.  St. 
Vincent's  Benedictine  Abbey,  at  Beatty 
Post  Office,  Westmoreland  county,  Penn 
sylvania,  not  only  has  a  Mitred  Abbot, 
but  this  religious  superior  has  been  raised 
to  the  dignity  of  Arch-Abbot.  The  first  Arch- 
Abbot  in  the  United  States  was  the  venerable 
Right  Rev.  Boniface  Wimmer,  who,  on  the 
celebration  of  his  golden  jubilee  as  a  priest,  was 
raised  to  that  dignity  by  Pope  Leo  XIII. ;  he 
died  on  the  feast  of  the  Immaculate  Conception, 
1887,  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight,  and  Dr. 
Hintenach  is  his  successor.  At  this  Abbey  also 
resides  the  Mitred  Abbot,  Right  Rev.  James 
Zilliox,  who  has  resigned  the  office  of  superior. 
So  also  the  Trappist  Convent,  at  Gethsemani, 
Nelson  county,  Kentucky,  The  Abbey  of  Our 
Lady  of  La  Trappe,  has  had  its  Mitred  Abbot, 
the  Right  Rev.  M.  Benedict,  who  has  resigned, 


but  still  retains  the  rank  of  a  Mitred  Abbot. 
The  Benedictine  Abbey,  New  Engelberry  Abbey, 
at  Conception,  Missouri,  and  in  the  Diocese  of 
Kansas  City  and  St.  Joseph,  has  its  Mitred 
Abbot  in  the  person  of  Right  Rev.  Frowenus 
Conrad.  St.  John's  Abbey,  of  the  Benedictines, 
at  Collegeville,  Steam's  county,  Minnesota,  has 
its  Mitred  Abbot  in  the  person  of  Right  Rev. 
Alexius  Edelbrock,  who  is  also  the  president  of 
the  Benedictine  University.  There  is  also  con 
nected  with  these  institutions  St.  John's  In 
dustrial  School  for  Indian  Boys.  They  are  in 
the  new  Diocese  of  St.  Cloud.  St.  Meinrad's 
Benedictine  Abbey,  at  St.  Meinrad's,  Spencer 
county,  Indiana,  in  the  Diocese  of  Vincennes, 
has  for  its  Mitred  Abbot  Right  Rev.  Fintan 
Mundwiler.  St.  Mary's  Benedictine  Abbey,  at 
Newark,  New  Jersey,  has  received  the  same 
dignity  in  the  elevation  of  its  Abbot,  Right  Rev. 
Helary  Pfraengle,  to  the  rank  of  a  Mitred  Abbot. 
St.  Benedict's  Abbey,  at  Atchison,  Kansas,  in  the 
Diocese  of  Leavenworth,  has  received  the  same 
distinction  in  the  appointment  of  its  Abbot,  Right 
Rev.  Innocent  Wolf,  and  his  elevation  to  be  a 
Mitred  Abbot. 


THE  BAHAMA  ISLANDS. 


THE  Bahama  Islands,  though  under  the 
dominion  and  flag  of  Great  Britain,  have  been 
for  many  years  attached  to  one  of  the  Dioceses 
of  the  American  Church.  Formerly  they  were 
within  the  Diocese  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina ; 
but  owing  to  the  more  direct  and  convenient 
intercourse  with  the  islands  from  the  city  of  New 
York,  they  have  in  more  recent  years  been  placed 
under  the  spiritual  jurisdiction  of  the  Arch 
bishop  of  New  York.  Accordingly  Archbishop 
Corrigan  visited  this  distant  and  needy  portion 
of  his  flock  in  the  fall  of  1887,  and  his  zealous 

and  generous  works  gave  a  new  impetus  to  re- 
** 


ligion  and  education  there.  There  is  only  one 
church  on  the  islands,  the  Church  of  St.  Francis 
Xavier,  at  Nassau,  New  Providence,  which  is 
attended  by  Rev.  Denis  Paul  O'Flynn  and  Rev. 
Bernard  J.  Reilly.  There  is  also  St.  Francis 
Xavier's  Academy,  at  Nassau,  of  which  a  colony 
of  the  Sisters  of  Charity  from  New  York  city 
have  charge,  and  Sister  M.  Dolores  is  the  Sister 
Servant.  The  same  Sisterhood  have  also  in  their 
charge  St.  Francis  Xavier's  School  for  Colored 
Children,  which  has  seventy-four  colored  children 
as  its  pupils,  and  Sister  Cassilda  is  the  Sister 
Prioress. 

(M3) 


144 


APPENDIX. 


THE  VlCARIATE-APOSTOLIC   OF  THE   SANDWICH    (HAWAIIAN)    ISLANDS. 


THE  Sandwich  Islands  were,  in  1827,  formed 
into  a  Prefecture  Apostolic;  in  1840  they  were 
made  a  part  of  the  Vicariate-  Apostolic  of  Oceanica; 
and  in  1847  these  islands  were  formed  into  a 
separate  Vicariate-Apostolic.  The  Prefecture 
embraces  all  the  islands  of  the  Hawaiian  group 
in  the  Torrid  Zone,  forming  the  Hawaiian  king 
dom,  with  its  capital  at  Honolulu,  on  the  Island 
of  Oahu.  The  first  Vicariate-Apostolic  was  Right 
Rev.  Ronchonze,  D.  D.,  who  was  consecrated 
under  the  title  of  Bishop  of  Nilopolis  ;  he  arrived 
at  the  Vicariate  on  May  13,  1840,  and,  after 
rendering  good  services  to  religion,  died  in  1843. 
The  second  Vicar- Apostolic  was  Right  Rev. 
Louis  Desire  Maigret,  D.  D.,  who  was  consecrated 
at  Santiago,  Chili,  on  October  31,  1847,  under 
the  title  of  Bishop  of  Arathia,  and,  after  a  suc 
cessful  Episcopate,  died  on  June  n,  1882.  The 
third  and  present  Vicar-Apostolic  is  Right  Rev. 
Hermann  Koeckemann,  D.  D.,  who  was  conse 
crated  at  San  Francisco,  California,  on  August 
21,  1 88 1,  under  the  title  of  Bishop  of  Olba.  At 
Honolulu  there  is  a  College  of  St.  Louis  under 
the  direction  of  the  Brothers  of  Mary,  and  a 
Convent  of  the  Sacred  Hearts  of  Jesus  and  Mary, 
and  schools  at  eight  other  places.  The  priests  of 
the  Vicariate  consist  of  twenty-two,  of  whom  all  are 
members  of  the  Society  of  the  Sacred  Hearts  of 
Jesus  and  Mary,  with  the  exception  of  one,  who 
is  a  secular  priest.  There  is  also  a  home  for 
female  children  not  affected  with  leprosy,  and 


called  "  Kapiolani  Home,"  at  Honolulu,  which  is 
under  the  care  of  the  Franciscan  Sisters ;  also  a 
government  hospital  for  all  diseases  except 
leprosy  at  Wailuku,  also  under  the  care  of  the 
Franciscan  Sisters ;  and  at  Molokai  a  boys'  home, 
and  at  Kalaupapa  a  home  for  lepers'  wives 
and  children,  affected  with  the  disease,  under 
the  same  heroic  Sisters.  The  whole  population 
of  the  islands  is  ninety  thousand,  and  of  whom 
twenty-seven  thousand  are  Catholics. 

Intense  interest  attaches  to  the  Church  of  the 
Sandwich  Islands  throughout  the  world  by  reason 
of  the  heroic  death  of  the  illustrious  Father 
Joseph  Damien,  on  the  Island  of  Molokai,  on 
April  15,  1889.  When  this  Catholic  martyr 
heard,  in  1873,  that  Bishop  Hermann  could  find 
no  missionary  to  go  to  the  lepers  of  Molokai  he 
volunteered  his  services,  and  after  the  most  noble 
labors  and  several  years  of  intense  agony  which 
he  suffered  himself  from  the  disease,  he  gave  his 
life  for  the  poor  lepers,  and  was  honored  through 
out  Christendom  as  an  apostle  and  as  a  saint. 
The  lepers  are  cut  off  from  the  rest  of  the  Island 
of  Molokai,  and  from  the  world,  by  a  high  wall  on 
one  side  and  the  ocean  on  the  other  sides,  at  one 
end  of  the  island,  where  they  have  been  placed 
by  the  government.  The  leper-missionary  and 
the  Sisters  of  St.  Francis  are  the  admiration  of 
the  whole  Christian  world  for  their  sublime 
charity.  Honolulu  contains  St.  Louis  Col 
lege. 


THE  CENTENARY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  CHURCH — 1789-1889. 


THE  Papal  Bulls  of  Pope  Pius  VI.,  erecting 
the  Episcopal  See  of  Baltimore,  which  then 
embraced  the  entire  thirteen  original  States  of 
the  American  Union  and  their  vast  Territories, 
and  appointing  the  Right  Rev.  John  Carroll,  of 
Maryland,  the  first  Bishop,  were  dated  on  Novem- 


Gibbons,  the  Archbishop  of  Baltimore,  and  the 
present  successor  of  Dr.  Carroll,  His  Eminence, 
Cardinal  El  gear  Taschereau,  Archbishop  of 
Quebec,  Canada,  about  ninety  Archbishops  and 
Bishops  from  all  parts  of  the  United  States, 
Canada  and  Mexico,  near  one  thousand  priests, 


ber  6,  1789.    The  centenary  of  this  great  and  iin-     and  thirty  thousand  laymen  from  every  State  in 


perishable  event  was  celebrated  by  the  American 
Church  on  the  Sunday  following  the  date,  on  No 
vember  10, 1889,  with  a  splendor  and  magnificence, 
and  with  an  unanimity  of  prelates,  priests  and  laity 
which  no  previous  pageant  had  ever  called  forth 
in  the  United  States.  The  celebration  took  place 
at  Baltimore,  in  the  venerable  and  noble  cathedral 
of  that  city;  His  Eminence,  Cardinal  James 


the  Union,  in  addition  to  the  entire  population  of 
Baltimore,  took  part,  either  as  actors  or  specta 
tors  in  this  grand  ceremonial.  The  two  Cardinals, 
the  Archbishops  and  Bishops,  the  priests  and  as 
many  of  the  laity  as  could  get  into  the  cathedral 
were  present  at  the  grand  Pontifical  Mass, 
celebrated  by  the  Most  Rev.  John  Joseph  Wil 
liams,  Archbishop  of  Boston,  and  on  this  occasion 


APPENDIX. 


145 


the  Most  Rev.  Patrick  John  Ryan,  Archbishop 
of  Philadelphia,  pronounced  one  of  the  most 
eloquent  and  learned  sermons  of  his  life.  The 
ceremonies  ended  by  the  singing  of  the  Te  Deum, 
to  the  unsurpassed  rendering  of  which  the 
highest  efforts  of  art,  and  the  spontaneous  senti 
ments  of  all  present,  contributed  in  a  wonderful 
manner.  In  the  evening  Pontifical  Vespers  were 
celebrated  in  the  same  cathedral,  and  in  the  same 
presence.  The  celebrant  of  the  Vespers  was  the 
Most  Rev.  Michael  Heiss,  Archbishop  of  Mil 
waukee,  and  a  sermon  of  unsurpassed  eloquence 
and  power  was  preached  by  the  Most  Rev.  John 
Ireland,  Archbishop  of  St.  Paul.  Between  the 


Pontifical  Mass  and  the  Vespers,  a  grand  banquet 
was  had  by  the  Cardinals,  Archbishops,  Bishops 
and  clergy,  presided  over  by  Cardinal  Gibbons, 
and  here  was  read  a  cablegram  from  the  Holy 
Father,  Pope  Leo  XIII.,  congratulating  the 
American  Church  and  bestowing  upon  it  the 
Apostolic  Benediction.  The  Holy  Father  sent 
Archbishop  Satolli,  of  Rome,  to  represent  His 
Holiness  at  the  celebration ;  the  American  Col 
lege  at  Rome  was  represented  by  its  president, 
Monsignor  O'Connell,  and  several  English  and 
other  European  Dioceses  and  institutions  were 
represented  at  the  centenary.  This  great  event 
elicited  respect  from  all  sects. 


THE  FIRST  AMERICAN  CATHOLIC  LAY  CONGRESS. 


ONE  of  the  most  important  and  significant 
events  in  the  history  of  the  Catholic  Church  in 
the  United  States  during  the  last  century  fol 
lowed  at  Baltimore  immediately  after  the  cen 
tenary  of  the  Hierarchy.  This  event  was  the 
assembly  of  the  First  American  Catholic  Lay 
Congress,  which  took  place  in  Concordia  Hall, 
on  November  n  and  12.  The  Congress  was 
opened  by  a  Pontifical  Mass,  celebrated  at  the 
cathedral  on  the  morning  of  November  n,  by  the 
Most  Rev.  Michael  Augustine  Corrigan,  Arch 
bishop  of  New  York,  in  the  presence  of  the  same 
distinguished  audience  that  had  witnessed  the  cele 
bration  of  the  centenary  of  the  Hierarchy  on  the 
day  previous.  The  Most  Rev.  William  Henry 
Gross,  Archbishop  of  Oregon,  preached  the 
sermon  of  welcome  to  the  lay  delegates  to  the 
Congress.  Immediately  after  the  religious 
services  at  the  cathedral  the  Congress  was  opened 
at  Concordia  Hall,  where  a  separate  portion  of 
the  hall  was  assigned  for  the  delegation  of  each 
State,  and  in  which  about  fifteen  hundred  dele 
gates  assembled.  The  proceedings  were  com 
menced  by  motions  for  organizing,  made  by  Hon. 
William  J.  Onahan,  of  Chicago.  Prayer  was 
offered  by  the  Most  Rev.  John  Ireland,  Arch 
bishop  of  St.  Paul.  A  cablegram  was  received 
from  Rome,  as  follows  : 

"His  EMINENCE,  CARDINAL  GIBBONS,  Baltimore: 

"  Having  made  known  to  the  Holy  Father  the 

expression  of  devotion  conveyed  to  him  on  the 

part  of  the   Catholic   Congress   to  be   held   in 


Baltimore,  His  Holiness  graciously  bids  me  say 
that  he  most  affectionately  imparts  his  blessing 
to  all  the  members. 

"  M.  CARDINAL  RAMPOLLO." 

The  Honorable  John  Lee  Carroll,  a  grandson 
of  Charles  Carroll,  of  Carrollton,  and  ex-Governor 
of  Maryland,  was  chosen  chairman  of  the  Con 
gress,  and  he  opened  its  deliberations  with  an 
able  and  eloquent  address.  A  long  list  of  Vice- 
Presidents,  Secretaries  and  other  officials  was  ap 
pointed,  and  telegrams  of  congratulation  were 
received  from  various  distinguished  bodies  and 
individuals  in  different  parts  of  the  world,  in 
cluding  a  message  from  the  President  of  the 
United  States.  Speeches  were  made  by  Honor- 
ables  Daniel  Dougherty,  Francis  Kernan,  Mayor 
Latrobe,  HonOre  Mercier,  Premier  of  Quebec, 
Father  Nugent,  of  England,  Monsignor  Gadd, 
the  representative  of  Bishop  Vaughan,  and  by 
His  Eminence,  Cardinal  Gibbons. 

The  most  remarkable  and  enduring  work  of 
the  Congress  consisted  in  the  reading  of  a 
series  of  learned  and  able  papers  by  gentlemen 
previously  appointed  for  that  purpose.  These 
papers  were  as  follows  : 

"  Catholic  Congresses,"  by  John  Gilmary  Shea, 
LL.  D.,  of  New  York. 

"  Lay  Action  in  the  Church,"  by  Major  Henry 
F.  Brownson,  of  Detroit. 

"What  Catholics  have  done  in  the  last 
Hundred  Years,"  by  Richard  H.  Clarke,  LL.  D., 
of  New  York. 


146 


APPENDIX. 


"The  Independence  of  the  Holy  See,"  by 
Charles  J.  Bonaparte,  of  Baltimore. 

"  The  New  Social  Order,"  by  Peter  L.  Foy. 

"  The  State  and  Education,"  by  Judge  Edmund 
E.  Dunne,  of  Florida. 

"The  Catholic  Press,"  by  George  Deering 
Wolfe,  of  Philadelphia. 

"  Religion  and  Education,"  by  Hon.  William 
L.  Kelly,  of  St.  Paul. 

"  Catholic  Societies,"  by  Hon.  Henry  J.  Spaun- 
horst,  of  St.  Louis. 

"  Church  Literature,"  by  Conde  B.  Palen,  Esq., 
of  St.  Louis. 

"  Temperance,"  by  John  H.  Campbell,  Esq., 
of  Philadelphia. 

"  Church  Music,"  by  Professor  Herman  Allen, 
of  Chicago. 

"  Sunday  Observance,"  by  Manly  Tello,  Esq. 

The  Congress  also  presented  and  adopted  a 
declaration  of  Catholic  principles  on  the  leading 
subjects  of  the  day,  which  made  a  profound  im 
pression  on  the  public  mind  of  America. 


On  the  evening  of  November  n  a  grand 
reception  was  given  in  honor  of  the  prelates 
assembled  in  Baltimore,  at  Concordia  Hall.  An 
address  of  welcome  was  delivered  by  Martin  F. 
Morris,  Esq.,  of  Washington,  and  a  second  ad 
dress  was  delivered  by  Hon.  Charles  B.  Roberts, 
of  Westminster,  Maryland.  The  Most  Rev. 
William  Henry  Elder,  Archbishop  of  Cincinnati, 
responded  in  behalf  of  the  Cardinals  and  prelates. 
The  reception  was  closed  by  the  Cardinals  and 
prelates  coming  down  from  the  platform  and 
receiving  the  congratulations  of  the  vast  as 
sembly  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  that  filled  the 
hall.  " 

The  city  of  Baltimore  was  illuminated  on 
Monday  and  Tuesday  evenings,  November  n 
and  12.  On  the  evening  of  Tuesday  the  city 
of  Baltimore  was  traversed  by  a  grand  torch 
light  procession  of  Catholic  societies  and  citizens 
from  many  cities.  Thirty  thousand  persons 
marched  in  this  grand  parade,  which  was  greeted 
with  unbounded  applause. 


THE  OPENING  OF  THE  AMERICAN  CATHOLIC  UNIVERSITY, 


ON  the  morning  of  November  13  the  history 
of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States  was 
marked  by  an  event,  the  equal  of  which  few 
centuries  have  witnessed  in  any  country.  This 
was  the  solemn  opening  and  inauguration  of  the 
American  Catholic  University  at  Washington. 
The  buildings  of  the  university  were  blessed  by 
His  Eminence,  Cardinal  Gibbons.  Pontifical 
Mass  was  celebrated  by  Archbishop  Satolli,  of 
Rome,  and  a  powerful  and  eloquent  sermon  was 
delivered  by  Bishop  Gilmour,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio. 


A  grand  banquet  was  given  in  the  afternoon. 
The  occasion  was  honored  by  the  presence  of 
President  and  Mrs.  Harrison,  Vice-President  and 
Mrs.  Morton,  Secretary  of  State  and  Mrs.  Blaine, 
and  many  other  functionaries  of  the  government. 
The  attendance  at  the  university  was  composed 
of  Cardinals,  prelates  and  eminent  laymen,  who 
had  previously  attended  the  celebrations  in 
Baltimore.  A  grand  reception  was  given  in  the 
evening,  at  Carroll  Institute,  in  honor  of  the 
guests  of  the  university. 


"BALTIMORE  DAY." 


more 


THURSDAY,  November  14,  was  called  "Balti- 
Day,"  for  on  that  day  the  municipal 
authorities  of  Baltimore  made  the  visiting  and 
distinguished  Catholic  citizens  their  guests,  the 
prelates,  clergy  and  laity  having  returned  from 
Washington  to  Baltimore  on  invitation  for  that 
purpose.  The  officials  of  the  city  provided  con 


veyances,  and  escorted  their  guests  to  visit  the 
various  public  works  and  institutions  of  Balti 
more.  An  entertainment  was  given  at  St.  Mary's 
Industrial  School,  and  in  the  afternoon  a  recep 
tion  was  held  at  the  City  Hall  by  Cardinal 
Gibbons,  Mayor  Latrobe  and  Mayor-elect  David 
son. 


